Germany ratifies UPC, start date now confirmed
Conditions for the entry into force of the agreement have been created | The court will decide patent disputes with immediate effect for 17 states from summer 2023 onwards.
Germany has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPC), following years of delays and speculation over its future.
The development was confirmed in an announcement posted by the Federal Ministry of Justice today, February 17.
With the approval of Germany, the conditions for the entry into force of the agreement have been created, and it is now almost certain that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will begin operating on June 1, 2023.
In response to concerns over technical issues, Klaus Grabinski, president of the UPC Court of Appeal, confirmed in December that the opening of the UPC had been moved back from its original start date of April 1.
The new date for the sunrise period—essentially the period between Germany’s ratification and the coming into force of the (UPC)—is now March 1, 2023.
Commenting on today’s ratification, the German federal minister of justice, Marco Buschmann said:
“As of today, innovation protection in Europe will be raised to a new level. From June 1, unitary patent protection will open up in Europe, with disputes being decided in proceedings before the UPC with immediate effect for all participating member states.
“In this way, innovative companies can effectively protect their inventions in the common market in a contemporary way across borders. This strengthens future viability and innovative strength in Germany and Europe.”
The court will initially decide patent disputes with immediate effect for 17 states (Germany, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia).
More EU-member states can join the UPC in the future. As part of the preparations, the member states have agreed on a code of civil procedure for the new procedures for the court.
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