2 December 2016 // UK to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement
The UK government has confirmed it is proceeding with preparations to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement
The United Kingdom government announced on 28 November 2016, that it will now ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement so that the Unitary Patent System and the Unified Patent Court can come into operation without delay and before the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. Please click here to read the UK Government's Press Release.
The ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement means that:
it will be possible to obtain a Unitary Patent via the EPO which will cover 27 EU states, including the UK, as an alternative to validating the European patent individually in selected states or obtaining national patents through the patent offices of those states (including the UK) which still permit this; and
one of the courts of the Central Division of the Unified Patent Court will be in London, as originally planned, and in fact the new courtroom therefor has already been set up ready for operation.
To read the EPO's official notice, please click here.
