Publications, articles de presse, classements, awards et évènements à venir
6 months of UPC: overview of unitary effect requests
It has been 6 months since the UPC agreement entered into force. It is therefore time to have an overview of the requests for unitary effect.
Unitary patent and Unified Patent Court: organization and impacts on IP rights
Camille Pecnard participated in a round table on the unitary patent and the JUB for the Lettre des Juristes d’Affaires (LJA) which resulted in an article in their magazine.
Some criteria for choosing between unitary patent and national validations of the european patent
From 1 January 2023, the period for early uptake of the Unitary Patent begins and related official forms are available on the EPO website. The Unitary Patent system is expected to enter into force on 1 June 2023, when the Unified Patent Court (UPC) should also come into operation, heralding a new era for patent protection in Europe.
Unitary patent and Unified Patent Court: organization and impacts on IP rights
Camille Pecnard and Damien Colombié co-authored an article on the UPC and the unitary patent published this week in the Lettre des Juristes d’Affaires (LJA).
New on EasyPatent
European validation module (unitary effect patent) is now available EasyPatent now offers a module dedicated to European validations Dedicated to foreign patent extensions, phase commitments and validations, EasyPatent gives you access to an immediate estimate of the cost of the operation directly via IP DATA².
The start of the Sunrise Period postponed by two months
The Sunrise Period of the Unified Patent Jurisdiction was supposed to start on 1 January 2023, with a goal of the jurisdiction becoming operational on 1 April 2023. In a press release dated 5 December 2022, the Court states that this timetable is postponed by two months. The Sunrise Period will therefore start on 1 March 2023, with the aim of the Court coming into force on 1 June 2023.
Opt-out : actions to be undertaken
As you may know, alongside with the set-up of a patent with unitary effect, a Unified Patent Court (UPC) is being established and will be effective at the end of a “sunrise” period (expected in spring 2023). By default, this UPC court will also have jurisdiction over all your European patent applications and granted European patents (in force or expired since less than 5 years) and deriving SPCs.
UPC and the Bolar exemption
The so-called ‘Bolar exemption’ finds legal basis in EU Directive 2004/27/EC modifying Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use. Article 10(6) of EU Directive 2001/83/EC states that:
Double Protection between national Patent and European Patent with or without the unitary effect
The European Patent with unitary effect (“Unitary Patent”) will be introduced soon. The final stage of the preparatory work will be accomplished by the end of this summer and the final missing ratification will then be deposited by Germany.
UPC and opt-out : definition, advantages and drawbacks
The present system of European (EP) patents granted by the European Patent Office, has the drawback that the same patent, validated in several states, may lead to several parallel disputes in these jurisdictions. The Unified Patent package creates a unitary effect for European patents encompassing the states that have ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA – to be found here). That is to say, an EP patent with unitary effect will have the same effects in all the states that ratified the UPCA and where said patent has been validated.
How to select the European Patent with the unitary effect (Unitary Patent)
Unitary Patent a unique protection for 17 states in Europe With the recent ratification of Austria, the European Patent with unitary effect (“Unitary Patent”) will be introduced soon.
Entry into force of the Protocol on provisional application of the UPC agreement (PAP)
The European Council has just indicated on its website (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/treaties-agreements/agreement/?id=2015056) that the Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on provisional application (also called PAP) has entered into force yesterday, January 19, 2022.
The current state of play towards the set up of the Unified Patent Court
The Unified Patent Court Agreement will enter into a provisional preparatory stage once 13 signatory states of the Agreement including Germany, France and the United Kingdom and having ratified said Agreement have ratified or expressed their consent to be bound by the Protocol on Provisional Application (A.3(1) of the Protocol).
The German Federal Government officially ratified the UPC Act of Approval on August 13th.
The publication of the law in the Federal Law Gazette finally puts an end to the legal complications that have been blocking the german ratification process and, consequently, the establishment of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). But this does not mean that the UPC can finally start to operate.
German Federal Constitutionnal Court’s decision
By order of June 23, 2021, the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) rejected two applications for preliminary injunction against the Act of Approval that was adopted on December 18, 2020, for the purposes of ratifying the Agreement of 19 February 2013 on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Act of Approval). This decision was highly expected because the process of ratification of the UPC Act of Approval and thus, the establishment of the UPC has been delayed until the ruling of the Court.
Again, and again: the UPC agreement is further challenged in Germany
Although the German Parliament (« Bundesrat ») recently voted in favor of the ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) (that we reported here), and despite the political will (see there), the German ratification of the UPCA is again put on hold. The German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) advised that that two new constitutional complaints were filed on the very same day on which the Bundesrat approved the ratification (18th December 2020). One of the complaint, filed by Düsseldorf lawyer Ingve Stjerna, who already filed an earlier constitutional complaint in 2017, aims at obtaining an interim order to cease the ratification
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Further step in ratification of UPC by Germany
As expected, the second chamber of the German Parliament (« Bundesrat ») has just voted today in favor of the ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement and of the Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (click here) The vote was unanimous and the next step is now a formal signature of the Law by the German President. Before the law is signed, we will monitor whether another appeal is filed before the Federal Constitutional Court, as it is expected from entities opposed to this agreement, in particular in the field of free software. We will keep you promptly
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New Ratification of The UPCA by The Bundestag – What Is Next ?
The German National Assembly (Bundestag) has now adopted the law for ratifying the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) with the required majority. As a next step, the Bundesrat, the second chamber, has to approve the law. As the Bundesrat did not have any objections previously, it is likely that the law will pass with the required majority. The next session of the Bundesrat is planned for 18 December 2020, however the schedule of the session is not yet fixed. After the vote of the Bundesrat, the government and the president have formally to sign the law.
Order N°2018-341 of May 9th, 2018, Regarding Unitary European Patents and The Unified Patent Court
After the ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) by the United Kingdom on April 26th, France has just adopted new Order n°2018-341 of May 9th, 2018, regarding Unitary Patents and the Unified Patent Court (the “Order”). While this new law intends to amend the French Intellectual Property Code in view of the upcoming changes with Unitary Patents (“UP”) and the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”), it is supposed to have a wider impact on patent law in France.
Unitary Patent – Lithuania Completes Its Ratification Formalities
According to the website of the Council of the European Union, Lithuania has completed its ratification formalities on 24 August 2017. This is the 14th ratification following that of Estonia which joined the unitary patent system on 1 August 2017. To be complete, the unitary patent system requires 13 ratifications, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. France is already part of the system since 14 March 2014. However, according to the Preparatory Committee, the United Kingdom and Germany still have some hurdles to overcome before the unitary patent system enters into force (you can see our previous posts on the
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5th conference on the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court
The 5th conference on the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court, organized annually by Premier Cercle in association with the EPO, was held in Munich on July 5, 2017. First, an overview over the state of advancement of the implementation of the Unitary Patent and the UPC from a technical, legal and financial point of view was given by a member of the Committee in charge of the Implementation of the Unitary Patent Protection. It appears that the implementation is completed at all levels, and that the system is ready to launch as soon as the ratification process has
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Get prepared for a breathtaking fall sunrise
In practice, the UPC Agreement setting up the UPC is to enter into force the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the thirteenth instrument of ratification or accession, including France, Germany and the UK. As a further unforeseen development of the setting up of the UPC, the United Kingdom voted “Brexit”. This Brexit has become more tangible as the UK has notified withdrawal from the EU under article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union on March 29, 2017. Despite the great uncertainties created by Brexit, rumors say that the UK is willing to ratify the
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