Preparatory Committee for UPC revises 2015 deadline

A new court to hear disputes related to the proposed Unitary Patent will not be in place by early next year, the group responsible for implementing it has admitted.

In a statement, the Unified Patent Court preparatory committee conceded it will not be able to deliver the framework in time for its original deadline of early 2015.

“After one year of preparatory work, the committee has deemed it appropriate to conduct a revision of its roadmap which was discussed at the meeting,” the statement said.

In December last year, European Patent Office president Benoît Battistelli praised the “steady” progress that the Unitary Patent and UPC had made, adding that the first patent could be issued in 2015.

However, following the preparatory committee’s latest meeting, which took place on March 18, it was confirmed that implementation is unlikely until the end of 2015 at the earliest.

“It is clear to the committee that the ambitious target date of early 2015, decided at its first meeting, cannot be accomplished,” the statement added.

The UPC system will involve local, regional and central divisional courts hearing disputes about the validity and infringement of unitary patents.

It will have headquarters in the UK, France and Germany, all of which are required to ratify the proposals prior to implementation.

Last month, WIPR reported that France had become the first of those countries to agree to the proposals.

“The Committee stays completely focused on its task but at the same time cannot let self-imposed deadlines stand in the way of quality,” the statement added.