UPC moves one step closer as Finland confirms participation

Finland has become the latest country to ratify the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement, raising the total number of confirmed participants to nine.

The country deposited its instrument of ratification yesterday, January 19. The development was confirmed on the European Council’s website.

Finland is the latest country to approve the UPC deal since Portugal ratified the agreement last August.

It means the UPC requires just four more signatures, including the ratifications of both the UK and Germany, to take effect. The central division of the UPC will be based in Paris, with specialist sections in Munich and London. There will be further regional and local divisions too.

Last month, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that the UPC is “legally” and “technically” ready. Issues surrounding the renewal fees and how they are distributed between national intellectual property offices and the EPO, and other budgetary and financial rules, have been finalised.

On Friday, January 15, the Luxembourg government approved legislation on the implementation of the UPC’s Court of Appeal.