(UPDATED) Despite the Brexit vote and in a move which ends months of uncertainty about the future of the Unitary Patent system, the UK has announced it intends to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. UK Minister of State for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville Rolfe, made a statement on behalf of the UK government during…
The German legal website JUVE has reported it is highly likely that the UK will announce later today its intention to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. JUVE says it has heard this from reliable sources in London, or in German ‘gut unterrichteten Londoner Kreisen’. An official announcement of the UK on its (non)participation in the Unitary…
The United Kingdom can remain a member state of the Unitary Patent (UP) system after Brexit and it will not have to accept the supremacy of EU law by separate agreement, according to Prof Dr Ansgar Ohly of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität of Munich. He explained this in a recent lecture at the European Patent Judges‘ Forum…
Will the UK participate in the Unitary Patent system despite the Brexit vote of 23 Juni 2016? It has been the most important question concerning the system for over five months, but probably not much longer. Various sources expect the UK to make an announcement about its plans with the UP and UPC during the…
The Kluwer Patent Blog received an interesting contribution from the Italian Trade Union of IP Consultants in Italy (SICPI), concerning the relocation of the London section of the UPC Central Division in case the UK decides to leave the Unitary Patent system. Giovanni Bruni of the SICPI argues there are good arguments for Milan as…
The best way forward for the Unitary Patent system after the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016 is to find a way to keep the UK inside the system. That is the opinion of Francesco Macchetta, director IP of the Bracco Group, a healthcare multinational with headquarters in Milan. But if the British don’t stay…
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…
Introduction by Brian Cordery and Rik Lambers “As many readers will know, the English High Court ruled on a legal challenge as to whether the government could trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without parliamentary approval. The post below by Maria Kendrick explains that the Judges ruled broadly that parliament is supreme in UK constitutional…
1. History One of the most precious achievements that Europe inherited from England is the so-called Rule of Law, dating back from the days of James I who ruled the union of the Scottish and English crowns from 1603 until his death in 1625. The key parts of this model is that laws are made…
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…
