Patents
The Unitary Patent and UPC: Two steps forward and one step back
March 18, 2021
Despite years of discussion, the implementation of the Unitary Patent and UPC remains stalled.
The future implementation of the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court remains unclear.
It is true that progress has been made – for example, the project did not die with the UK’s withdrawal of its ratification in the Summer of 2020, while it is also positive news that the German Bundesrat approved the draft legislation for German ratification in mid-December 2020.
However, some of the old barriers remain, albeit in new form, as two new constitutional complaints (2 BvR 2216/20 and 2 BvR 2217/20) were filed with the German Constitutional Court shortly after the Bundesrat’s decision. There is currently no agreed date for when these complaints will be reviewed.
Whilst these complaints remain unresolved, German ratification remains outstanding, and with it, the implementation of the Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court remains just out of reach… once again.