Last Friday, 17 February 2023, the German Government ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court.
This was the last step required to complete the ratification process of the unitary patent package.
It also triggers the countdown of Article 89 UPCA, whereby the Court will open its doors on 1st June 2023 and Unitary Patents will be available from same date.
We have updated our timeline accordingly
As our readers will know, this is a major change in the European patent landscape.
Decisions have to be taken taken now by patent owners, since early requests for unitary patent protection can be already lodged with the EPO. Furthermore, the German ratification triggers the sunrise period, during which patent proprietors can opt out their European patents from the exclusive competence of the new Court.
Please contact your usual Freylinger patent attorney for questions you may have on the UP and UPC. You may also refer to our news on this topic: