Why Ireland's UPC referendum is 'a significant concern' for the patent community
Almost two years after the Irish government confirmed it would hold a referendum on the country’s accession to the Unified Patent Court (UPC), it announced this week that Ireland will head to the polls on the matter—in June this year.
Business groups such as Ibec—Ireland’s largest business lobbying group, which has campaigned strongly for a referendum on the subject—welcomed the announcement.
Aidan Sweeney, Ibec’s head of enterprise and regulatory affairs, said in a statement that “there is a clear business case for Ireland’s participation in the UPC”.
“Ireland’s participation in the new system will help grow our patent-intensive sectors, improve our innovation performance, help scale indigenous and founder-led companies, and help us compete for new inward investment,” he explained.
A “conservative” estimate of the value of Ireland’s participation in the UPC to the Irish economy, he said, could reach €1.663 billion ($1.8 billion) per annum.
The business case
Naoise Gaffney is vice president, intellectual property at GH Research; professor of patent law at Trinity College Dublin; and chair of the corporate IP group at Ibec.
