30/05/2014
Before the Unified Patent Court can come into being, and the EPO can grant the first Unitary Patent, thirteen of the twenty five signatories (including UK, France and Germany) of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court are required to ratify the Agreement. According to the EPO, Austria, France and Sweden have now ratified the Agreement. Malta have also ratified the Agreement, but the instrument of ratification has not yet been deposited, and it is understood that Belgium are close to ratification. In Denmark, a referendum was held last weekend. The Danes agreed to the ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement, and therefore it seems that ratification by Denmark is now a formality.
You can monitor progress on the Unitary Patent – ratification progress page of the EU’s website.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
