German parliament passes bill for UPC ratification
The German Bundestag has approved a ratification bill on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement, yesterday, November 26.
The approval comes after the German government submitted new draft legislation to ratify the UPC Agreement in June, three months after the country’s Federal Constitutional Court annulled the ratification.
In March, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court had upheld a constitutional complaint filed against the country’s UPC legislation, concluding that the act of approval for the agreement was null and void.
The court’s decision looked like it would derail the UPC project, particularly as it came one month after the UK said it would not be seeking involvement.
Then, the German government submitted a draft bill on the agreement, which it said that it would look to obtain the required two-thirds majority the court required.
Germany’s minister of justice and consumer protection Christine Lambrecht said in June: “I will continue to work to ensure that we can provide the European innovative industry with a single European patent with a European patent court.”
The bill yesterday was approved by 570 Bundestag members, achieving approval of more than two thirds of all the parliament’s members. It was this requirement that was not met for the previous bill, leading to the successful constitutional complaint.
Welcoming yesterday’s ratification, António Campinos, president of the European Patent Office, said: “Today's approval by the Bundestag brings us an important step closer to the much-anticipated implementation of the unitary patent package.”
“Once that happens, European inventors will finally be able benefit from the unitary patent, giving them uniform patent protection and, what's more, a unified system for litigation in all participating EU member states. This will make Europe even more attractive for innovation and investors, and help with economic recovery in light of the COVID-19 crisis.”
The agreement allows for a Unified Patent Court (UPC), an international court with jurisdiction for patents granted by the EPO.
Unitary patents will make it possible for patent owners to get uniform patent protection in up to 25 EU member states by submitting a single request to the EPO.
According to a statement by the EPO, the UPC will supplement and strengthen the existing centralised European patent granting system, offering users a cost-effective option for patent protection and dispute settlement across Europe.
“This specialised court will make the Europe-wide enforcement of patents a reality, offer greater legal certainty and reduce litigation costs,” said the EPO.
For unitary patents to become available, the UPC Agreement has to enter into force, which requires the ratification by 13 of the 25 participating EU Member States, including France and Italy.
In Germany, the UPC bill will now be submitted to the parliamentary upper house (Bundesrat) for approval later this year. Once the German ratification procedure is complete, the final preparatory steps could be taken to set up the UPC next year, which could then start its work in 2022, according to the EPO.
However, there still remains the risk of another constitutional complaint preventing or delaying the legislation coming into force. According to law firm Bristows, the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure, a European alliance that campaigns for free and competitive software creation, has already prepared a constitutional complaint.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
Brewdog loses TM dispute over ‘Doghouse’ beer hotel
ARIPO registers goat breed as first GI; EUIPO launches GI search tool
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk