Off we go! The Unified Patent Court is officially born.

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/off-we-go-unified-patent-court-is.html
The entry into force of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement has been a major
milestone for the actual birth of the Unitary Patent Court.

According to paragraphs a and b of Article 3(1) of the Protocol, there are two alternative conditions for the entry into force of the Protocol, namely:

(a) either the Protocol can be « signed in accordance with Article 2(2)a. or signed, and ratified, accepted or approved this Protocol in accordance with Article 2(2)b.; or
(b) the Signatory States “declared by means of a unilateral declaration or in any other manner that they consider themselves bound by the provisional application of the articles of the Unified Patent Court Agreement mentioned under Article 1 of the Protocol.

Austria was the first Member State to ratify the UPC Agreement, and now on the 19th of January 2022 it also deposited its instrument of ratification of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement. The Austrian ratification being the thirteen ratification of the Protocol, signals the entry into force of the Protocol. (see here for the official declaration of its entry into force).

The PAP will last at least eight months and will be used to solve a series of practical issues necessary for the functioning of the Unitary Patent Court:

  • the set up of the IT system of the Court
  • the completion of the Case Management System,
  • adoption of the Court’s budget ;
  • the recruitment of the staff, including selection and appointment of the Judges, and,
  • the settlement of the premises for the Court
  • inaugural meetings of the governing bodies of the Court

The plan looking forward is for Germany to deposit its instrument of ratification of the UPC Agreement, which in its turn will set off the countdown for the entry into force of the Agreement. This will happen when the preparatory works (budget, recruitment etc) are completed.

We are surely entering a new era in the patent world.

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