US patent owners, get ready for the UPC

Most US patent practitioners and frequent US filers of European patent applications have heard the news that Europe is migrating to a Unified Patent Court (UPC) system. US patent counsels’ attentiveness to the UPC has been tempered by the small number of EU member states that have ratified the UPC Agreement. Until more of the required minimum 13 countries ratify it, the likelihood of the UPC’s implementation has not seemed high enough to bother clients.