During the meeting of the EU Competitiveness Council on 28 November 2016 in Brussels, the UK Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property stated that the UK will proceed with their ratification process in the months to come.
The statement from the UK Minister for State and Intellectual Property Baroness Neville-Rolfe now seemingly paves the way for the UPC (Unified Patent Court) entering into force as soon as the second half of 2017, provided that Germany also ratifies in due course. However, there are still no official statements from either one of these countries when they actually expect to complete their ratification processes.
Voices were raised after the EU referendum on 23 June in favour of the UK ratifying the Agreement before filing the Article 50 declaration that sets in motion the process of leaving the EU, did so in view of the fact that the UPC is not an EU institution, but an international patent court and that the European Court of Justice (CJEU) will not deal with issues of substantive patent law. What will happen after the UK files the Article 50 is very uncertain, and concerns have also been raised that this might negatively influence how patent holders look at the UPC once it is operational. However, the intention of the UK administration appears to be, for as long as they are members of the EU, to play a full and active role in the UPC, according to Baroness Neville-Rolfe. She followed up by stating that “we will seek the best deal possible as we negotiate a new agreement with the European Union”. This statement might also be positive news with regards to European trademark and design rights.
In a statement made on 28 November, the UPC Preparatory Committee welcomes the news from the UK Minister. Since the UK vote to leave, the Preparatory Committee of the UPC has continued their efforts in recruiting judges and preparing the IT system for the entry into force of the UPC. Many countries have also moved forward with their preparations, for instance on 8 November it was announced on the UPC website that the Italian authorities had formally selected the location for the local division to be set up in Milan.
In an interview published on the website juve.de on 22 November, the chair of the UPC Preparatory Committee Alexander Ramsay also stated that the Brexit referendum more or less only posed a “speed bump” on the way to realizing the unitary patent protection and the UPC.
In addition, in a statement published on 29 November the EPO President Benoît Battistelli said:
“This important news from the UK government means that the long-awaited court is soon to be realized. Users, especially SMEs, have been waiting for the creation of a simpler patent system for Europe, and their relief is palpable. The way is now clear for the last few ratifications to take place in the coming months, and the new court to start work soon after. The UPC will provide a single forum for all participating states delivering faster enforcement actions and harmonized judicial decisions.”
The Preparatory Committee further fully acknowledges the uncertainty regarding the possible start of the system in their statement made on 28 November, and that the industry needs time to prepare for the new patent system. They will therefore publish a revised roadmap as soon as possible.
Provided that both UK and Germany ratify during the spring of 2017, businesses should be prepared for the entry into force during the autumn of next year.