What You Need to Know About the Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent
The new European Union Unified Patent Court (UPC) and Unitary Patent go live on June 1, 2023. Enterprises operating in Europe should understand the risks and rewards of this new system, one of the most significant...more
Background - As has been widely reported, major changes are looming for the European patent landscape. After many years of preparatory work and negotiations, Europe’s new Unified Patent Court (UPC) is expected to open for...more
Now is the time to act if you have European patents or a pending application. Europe’s new Unified Patent and Unitary Patent Court (UP/UPC), which have been in development for the better part of a decade, are finally on the...more
In 1973, in response to concerns about the costs of securing patent protection in Europe, the European Patent Convention was signed to set up a common patent office to examine patent applications for any European country that...more
After 45 years, the European Patent Office is replacing the existing regional patent system that has local enforcement with a new Unitary Patent (UP) system that has enforcement throughout Europe by a Unified Patent Court...more
The United Kingdom (UK) issued a statement on Feb. 27, 2020, cementing a new position that the country will take no steps to participate in the Unified Patent Court....more
As has been widely reported in the recent weeks, the UK government is currently trying to progress negotiations on a withdrawal agreement and a framework for its future relationship with the EU. However, uncertainty remains...more
On Monday the UK government published a series of notices on the impact of a no-deal Brexit on intellectual property right-holders....more
On, 12 July 2018, the UK government published a White Paper addressing its plan for exiting the EU The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on 29 March 2019....more
Patent holders must prepare a patent strategy before the Unified Patent Court system takes effect. On 26 April 2018, the UK government confirmed that the UK has now ratified the international agreement (the Agreement) to...more
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is one step away, with ratification by Germany required….However, there remains uncertainty as to German ratification, and whether the UK will be able to continue in the UPC system after Brexit....more
The UK government’s draft EU Withdrawal Bill (the “Brexit Bill“) aims to incorporate EU directives and regulations into UK domestic law in their current form immediately following Brexit (“Retained EU Law“). This article...more
Before the UK is able to ratify the Unified Patents Court Agreement, statutory instruments establishing the Unified Patents Court as a corporate entity in the UK and granting it certain privileges and immunities (such as...more
The UK has become the ninth state to deposit the document required to apply the Protocol on Provisional Application (PPA), which is an essential step towards formation of the UPC. Four more deposits, including that of...more
A new note regarding the implementation of the UPC Case Management System (CMS) was published yesterday by the IT Working Group Coordinator, Dario Pizzolante. The note announces the release of the latest CMS version and...more
The Preparatory Committee of the UPC has published a revised timetable for the final stages of preparations for the opening of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The revised timetable indicates that the Sunrise Period during...more
The Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (UK)—together with the Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property and Prime Minister May—issued a press release on Nov. 28 confirming that the country will...more
As we have reported previously, it had been thought that the UK’s vote on June 23, 2016 to leave the European Union would delay the commencement of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the introduction of the unitary patent....more
The EU’s Unitary Patent Convention and the associated EU patent had originally been expected to come into effect in 2017. This was, however dependent on ratification of the agreement by thirteen EU countries of which three...more
The UK Government yesterday announced that its plans to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement (“UPCA”) will not be derailed by Brexit. The UK Minister of State for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville Rolfe, made the...more
On June 23, 2016, British citizens voted in a referendum in favor of exiting the European Union. Termed “Brexit,” the United Kingdom’s departure effected global markets and caused the British pound to fall to its lowest level...more
Now that some time has passed since the Brexit vote, some of the ways in which the vote is likely to impact British patent law are becoming clearer. Here is a quick summary of some of the primary concerns....more
The process of Brexit will take time, and the implications for our clients’ business will unfold over time. Our MoFo Brexit Task Force is coordinating across all our offices and working with clients on your key concerns and...more
The UK has voted to leave the European Union. This will not affect the UK’s position as one of the most important IP jurisdictions in Europe. However, leaving the European Union will have an impact on substantive IP law in...more
New unified patent grant and patent court systems, which were to have taken effect in early 2017, will likely be stalled because of Britain’s June vote to leave the EU, commentators and member nations fear. BACKGROUND...more