Close to exactly 10 years following the signature of the UPC Agreement, which took place on 19 February 2013, in Brussels, a final step has now been taken towards the realization of the project on the Unified Patent Court!

This 17 February, Germany became the 17th Member State to deposit its instrument of ratification with the Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, hence launching the countdown under Article 89(1) of this Agreement.

This final step follows, amongst other, the Court’s confirmation at the Administrative Committee’s last meeting on 8 February 2023 that it would be ready to open its doors on June 1st on this year. 

The start of operations of the Court, together with the entry into effect of the two European Regulations on Unitary Patent Protection will mark a pivotal moment for patent law in Europe and possibly the world.

Mr Klaus Grabinski, President of the Court of Appeal, underlined the event by stating:

“I very much welcome Germany’s ratification of the Agreement. The ratification puts the European Patent Package on the home stretch. The Unified Patent Court Agreement will come into force and the Regulations on Unitary Patent Protection will become applicable on 1 June 2023. The European Patent System will be complemented significantly. It will soon be possible to sue for infringement of a European patent in several Member States before only one court instead of having to litigate before several national courts in parallel. This will reduce costs and avoid the risk of irreconcilable judgements. And it will be a truly European Court with legally and technically qualified judges from different Member States on the panel and lawyers from different Member States and European Patent Attorneys with an extra qualification representing the cases.”

It is expected for more Member States to join the system, once it is up and running.