UPC: inability to keep to the timetable

On June 7, 2017, the Preparatory Committee of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) announced that the previously established deadline for provisional application and implementation of the UPC Agreement cannot be met.

The UPC will not begin its operation in December, 2017, as it was expected before. For the UPC Agreement to enter into force, it must be ratified by at least thirteen contracting member states including France, the United Kingdom and Germany. Said member states must as well be bound by the Protocol on Provisional Application. Still, national procedures are performed with certain delays; therefore, the set date of the UPC’s entry into operation has to be postponed.

The UPC’s Preparatory Committee also announced that all the processes regarding UPCA ratification and participation in the Protocol are tightly observed. The new target date will be published on the UPC official website as soon as it becomes available.

Author: Lynda Miller