The German constitutional complaint against ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement is on the list of cases to be decided by the Bundesverfassungsgericht, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany this year.
A preview of the cases was published today here
(in German).
The rapporteur for the case (Az. 2 BvR 739/17) is Professor Dr. Peter Huber, who is also the rapporteur in four complaints concerning inadequate legal protection at the European Patent Office (about the link between the UPC and EPO cases see this article, which was published on the blog last year). The cases will be decided in the Second Senate.
According to a spokesman of the FCC, cases on the list haven’t necessarily been admitted for decision. An exact date of decision cannot be derived from the list either. Actually, the complaints concerning the EPO were on last year’s list as well.
The German constitutional complaint, if admitted for a decision, could delay or even block the entry into force on the Unitary Patent system, which cannot start if the Germans haven’t ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement.
The UK, the other member state that still has to ratify before the UP system can launch, is expected to complete all formalities by depositing its instrument of ratification in March or April.
For regular updates on the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court, subscribe to this blog and the free Kluwer IP Law Newsletter.
________________________
To make sure you do not miss out on regular updates from the Kluwer Patent Blog, please subscribe here.
