Can the UPC survive without the UK?
The UK’s vote to leave the EU in the so-called Brexit referendum has triggered the question of whether the Unified Patent Court (UPC) project still has a future and, if so, how it will look and when will it be implemented. Answering these questions is like looking into a crystal ball.
After several resignations of politicians in the UK, Theresa May (a ‘remainer’) was appointed on July 13 as prime minister, and has appointed Boris Johnson as foreign secretary and David Davis as Brexit chief—both men were ‘leavers’. These Cabinet appointments might be seen as a signal for a swift Brexit—or at least swifter than announced until recently.
But these new appointments still keep us in the fog. The political situation in the UK remains uncertain; the political and legal attitude of the UK towards the EU remains particularly unclear.
What is the future of the UPC? Can/will the UK ratify the UPC Agreement before officially Brexiting?If the UK ratifies the UPC Agreement, can the UK stay within the system after leaving the EU, ie, after having lost its EU membership? If the UK does not ratify before Brexiting, can the UPC become a reality? These are just some of the pressing questions.
To be or not to be part of the UPC? That’s the question for the UK now. And this question is at the heart of discussions among IP professionals, representatives of the UPC committee, and the president of the European Patent Office, Benoît Batistelli.
Different scenarios are currently on the table for the European stakeholders:
