Patents
The European Unitary Patent Edges Closer
July 02, 2014
The issuance of the first unitary patent edges closer with the news that Denmark has become the fifth country to ratify the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court.
The first unitary patent will not be issued by the European Patent Office (EPO) until the Unified Patent Court (UPC) comes into existence. For this to happen, the Unified Patent Court Agreement must be ratified by thirteen member states including the UK, Germany and France. On 20th June, Denmark became the fifth country to ratify the agreement (the others having done so being Austria, France, Sweden and Belgium). Although progress is being made, it is not expected that the UPC will be operational until the end of 2015 at the earliest, with the first unitary patent being issued shortly thereafter.
If you have any questions concerning the unitary patent, please get in touch with your usual contact at Swindell & Pearson Ltd or Simon Foster at [email protected]. Simon is based in the East Midlands, at our Derby office.