Cyprus and the UPC: the view from a minnow
The regulations governing the unitary patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC) entered into force in January 2013. However, they will only apply from the date on which the UPC Agreement enters into force. The agreement was signed by 25 EU member states in February 2013 and must be ratified by at least 13 states, including France, Germany and the UK, in order to enter into force.
Ratification of the UPC is crucial since the unitary patent system will not become operational until it has taken place. Article 89 of the UPC Agreement provides that:
“This agreement shall enter into force on 1 January 2014 or on the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the thirteenth instrument of ratification or accession in accordance with article 84, including the three member states in which the highest number of European patents had effect in the year preceding the year in which the signature of the agreement takes place or on the first day of the fourth month after the date of entry into force of the amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 concerning its relationship with this agreement, whichever is the latest.”
It is hoped that the requisite ratifications will be achieved in 2016 or 2017. To date only Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Sweden and Finland have ratified the agreement.
In response to our enquiries with the office of the Registrar of Companies, which is also responsible for registration of patents and other forms of intellectual property, we have been unofficially informed that a report has been prepared by the office on the ratification of the UPC Agreement. The report is currently under final review by the senior officer of the Registrar of Companies.
This report is expected to be sent for final review to the general director of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism in in a few weeks’ time. Following completion of this review, the report and the UPC Agreement will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval.
“The new framework will improve access to the patent system for smaller businesses, which in combination with licensing agreements will provide new business possibilities.”
Assuming the Council of Ministers gives its approval, the Attorney General’s Office will be instructed to produce a draft law to ratify the agreement for approval by the House of Representatives. Following approval, the law will take effect once it has been published in the official gazette.
According to our source, the draft law to ratify the agreement is unlikely to be presented to the House of Representatives until September 2016. Elections to the House of Representatives are due to take place in May and the house will soon adjourn for the elections. The draft law is unlikely to be ready for consideration by the House of Representatives when it reconvenes in June, and there will be a two-month summer recess in July and August. Nevertheless, in view of the significance of the agreement, the matter will be pursued by the registrar as far as possible for ratification before the end of 2016.
Merits of the UPC
These include the following:
