British Ratification of the UPC Agreement - Possibly the best thing to happen on World Intellectual Property Day


Jane Lambert

I mentioned the IPAN World IP Day conference in Happy World Intellectual Property Day earlier today.  I knew that the Minister would speak at the event but I did not know that he would announce British Ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement.  But that is precisely what happened (see Sam Gyimah announces ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement 26 April 2018 IPO).

That does not mean that the Unified Patent Court will open its doors any time soon or that the UK can remain party to the agreement after Brexit.  The German Constitutional Court has still to hear and determine a constitutional complaint by the German IP lawyer, Dr Ingve Björn Stjerna, on the constitutionality of the UPC Agreement and that may take more than the 11 months in which the UK remains a member of the EU (see One Year to Brexit - Are Rumours of the Death of the Unified Patent Court Agreement Greatly Exaggerated? 29 March 2018. As I said in Withdrawal Agreement - Not a Done Deal Yet 26 April 2018 NIPC Brexit, a disorderly Brexit remains a district possibility.

But we are now tantalizingly close to achieving an objective that will benefit the UK more than any other state of the EU and it would be appalling to abandon it now.   Should anyone wish to discuss this article or the UPC or unitary patent generally, he or she should call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message though my contact form,

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