05/12/2022
The President of the UPC Court of Appeal, Klaus Grabinski, and the Acting Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the UPC, Johannes Karcher, have announced that the roadmap (see here) for the entry into force of the Unitary Patent system is being pushed back by two months (see here).
This means that the three-month Sunrise Period will begin on 1 March 2023. Consequently, the UPC Agreement will enter into force on 1 June 2023.
In the announcement, the delay is explained as being “intended to allow future users to prepare themselves for the strong authentication which will be required to access the Case Management System (CMS) and to sign documents.”
There had been some doubts recently over the start date given that many interested parties have been struggling with the authentication for the Case Management System. As such, this delay may come as a relief to some, because it allows more time to prepare for these changes to the European patent system. It will also allow the UPC to spend more time to ensure that users will be able to make use of the CMS from the start of the sunrise period, e.g. to request opt-outs (see here).
The announcement is clear that “all other preparatory work is on track and in line with the published roadmap”, so that “no further delay of the start of the UPC beyond 1 June 2023” is expected. Thus, even with this delay, the start of the Sunrise Period is less than three months away.
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.
