UPC on hold pending Brexit: Germany
The UK’s departure from the EU plays an “important role” in the further implementation process of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), according to the German government.
In a document obtained by WIPR, the German Parliament (Deutsche Bundestag) said: “The actual and legal implications of withdrawing from the Convention must be examined and agreed at European level.
“This opinion is currently not finalised, not least because significant factors of the expected exit are not yet known.”
Germany, France and the UK must ratify the UPC Agreement in order for the court system, which will have jurisdiction over patent disputes across its contracting states, to be implemented.
In April last year, the UK ratified the agreement, following France’s ratification. However, the UK’s pending exit from the EU has thrown the UK’s continued participation into doubt.
Germany has its own complications on the UPC front—in June 2017, the German Federal Constitutional Court announced it was delaying the country’s ratification of the UPC Agreement because of a complaint.
The complaint, filed by Düsseldorf-based attorney Ingve Stjern, questions the democratic accountability of the regulatory powers overseeing the UPC’s operation and the independence of the judiciary. Stjern also argued that the UPC breaches existing EU law.
In February this year, the court placed the constitutional complaint disputing the legitimacy of the UPC on to its 2019 case list.
The German Federal Constitutional Court said that, during a phone call with the Office of the Federal President, the court was told by the office that the implementing legislation would not be brought into force until a decision had been issued.
According to the German Parliament, at the time of adopting its budgets for the UPC, the constitutional complaint was “unforeseeable”.
The parliament added that it has always “insisted on the creation” of a unified patent system in Europe and thus also on the UPC. “This commitment will continue,” it added.
The latest comment came in response to a request by Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician Roman Müller-Böhm.
Roman Müller-Böhm said that a unified patent court would be a great opportunity for Europe.
He added: “Unfortunately, the federal government has not sufficiently prepared for the consequences of Brexit for this future project … When it comes to economic viability and taxpayers' money in Germany, I would have wished for more sense of responsibility!”
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