The unicameral parliament of Lithuania has adopted two laws concerning the future Unitary Patent system. A bill on ratification of the UPC Agreement and a bill on the establishment of a Nordic-Baltic regional division of the UPC were approved on 3 Novermber 2017. They will enter into force on 1 July 2017, according to the…

The decision today of the UK High Court that the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin formal exit negotiations with the EU without approval of Parliament, is a setback for the UK prime minister Theresa May and increases the uncertainty regarding the Unitary Patent system. May had argued the government…

The recruitment procedure for judges of the Unified Patent Court has been suspended until more is known about the consequences of the UK’s Brexit vote for the Unitary Patent system. Earlier this week, the UPC Preparatory Committee announced the first round of selection of candidates has continued despite the Brexit vote, but ‘the commencement of…

The Preparatory Committee for the Unified Patent Court will publish a revised time plan for setting up the UPC and Unitary Patent system ‘in due course’. The Committee announced this after its 18th meeting, Monday 10 October 2016 in Paris, where it ‘took the opportunity to discuss the road ahead given the uncertainty that has…

Slovenia is expected to deposit its instrument of ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement with the Council of the European Union soon, bringing the number of ratifying countries to twelve. However, due to the Brexit vote and recent statements of UK prime minister Theresa May about what this vote should mean for the UK,…

The Preparatory Committee of the Unified Patent Court reported earlier this month that its work will be finished by the time of its meeting in October, and this will be its last. Due to the political reality of the Brexit vote and the legal uncertainty over its future participation in the Unitary Patent project, it is…

A post-Brexit UK can stay in the Unitary Patent system, although a number of criteria would have to be met. That is the opinion of leading counsel Richard Gordon QC and Tom Pascoe of Brick Court Chambers, who were asked by the IP Federation, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and the Intellectual Property Lawyers…