It is questionable whether the German constitutional complaint against ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement addresses fundamental breaches of the German Constitution. And even if the Federal Constitutional Court thinks this is the case, it may reject as inadmissible the complaint for a decision. Prof. Dr. Winfried Tilmann of Hogan Lovells argues this in…

What does the Brexit deal, which was reached by UK Prime Minister Theresa May with the EU earlier today, mean for (the British membership of) the Unitary Patent system? How important for instance is paragraph 38 of the Joint Paper, which establishes the continued involvement of the CJEU in the UK? Kluwer IP Law contacted…

Despite uncertainty about the UK’s post-Brexit position in the Unitary Patent (UP) system and the German constitutional compliant against the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), several steps leading towards UK ratification of the UPCA have been taken over the last weeks. The House of Commons approved the draft Unified Patent Court (Immunities and Privileges) Order…

Ahead of the meeting of the EU Competitiveness Council, 30 November and 1 December 2017 in Brussels, a group of European companies and associations have sent a letter to EU member states urging them to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement and join the Protocol on Provisional Application (PPA) as soon as possible, if they…

The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court are likely to boost trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the European Single Market for technology. This is one of the conclusions in an EPO report which was published on 14 November 2017. The study ‘Patents, trade and foreign direct investment in the European Union’, carried…

All Union law arguments against the Unitary Patent system, that are now on the table again because of the German constitutional complaint, have already been rejected in the recent past. Wouter Pors, partner of Bird & Bird, has said this in an interview with Kluwer IP Law. Pors hopes the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) will…

When will the Unified Patent Court open its doors and the Unitary Patent (UP) become available? The German constitutional complaint against ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) has dashed expectations that the UP system could launch at the end of this year. Considerable delays and even the end of the system in its…

European states lack awareness of their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and have established associations such as the EPO and the UPC, without anyone accounting for guarantees with regard to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Professor Siegfried Broß said this in…

Although the Irish government scheduled a series of referendums for 2018 and 2019 last month, the referendum on Irish participation in the Unitary Patent system was not one of them. This was confirmed by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation in Ireland. The press office of the ministry stated: ‘The Government deferred making a…

In the US, the potential for forum shopping in patent litigation has recently been reduced by the TC Heartland ruling of the Supreme Court. But what can be expected at the Unified Patent Court, with its central, regional and local divisions? Amandine Léonard, PhD researcher at the KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law, thinks the…