EPO 'confident' of 2020 UPC resolution
The European Patent Office (EPO) has said it is hopeful that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) agreement will be ratified by the end of the year, amid ongoing uncertainty over a German constitutional challenge and Brexit.
António Campinos, president of the EPO, welcomed reports suggesting that a complaint at Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court will be resolved early this year.
Campinos met with leading officials responsible for planning the implementation of the UPC last Friday, January 10.
“We are confident that the necessary steps can be accomplished in time for the Unitary Patent package to become operational at the end of 2020,” Campinos said.
The meeting came in order to “take stock” of preparations after a judge of the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) told Managing IP that the court intended to rule on the future of the UPC early this year.
Implementation of the UPC agreement has been on hold pending a constitutional challenge filed by a German attorney at the FCC in 2017.
Germany is unable to ratify the agreement establishing the UPC until the complaint has been resolved.
The proposed UPC will be an international court with jurisdiction for unitary patents issued by the EPO.
FCC decision
The EPO welcomed comments made by justice Peter Huber in a recent interview with Managing IP, in which the FCC judge said the court planned to rule on the German constitutional challenge in the first quarter of this year.
Huber also rejected allegations that Brexit had delayed the FCC’s decision.
The EPO said it was hopeful that the FCC would “clear the way for German ratification” in the timeframe given by Huber.
Alexander Ramsay and Jérôme Debrulle, chairs of the UPC Preparatory and Select committees, respectively, said: “We are all waiting for this reform, which is the most significant one since the creation of the European patent system almost 50 years ago, to finally become a reality.”
“Our users–and in particular SMEs–will strongly benefit from it because it will make Europe more competitive in relation to the United States and Asia,” Ramsay and Debrulle said.
The UK’s participation in the UPC remains unclear as the country heads towards an exit from the EU.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said last week that the UK would not accept any jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as part of its future relationship with the EU.
The CJEU would act as the final court of appeal under the UPC agreement, which also states that the UPC shall “apply EU law in its entirety and shall respect its primacy”.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories:
Jury awards USAA $102m in second Wells Fargo dispute
