BREAKING NEWS: UK ratifies UPC Agreement

IPAN's World IP Day event

Within the past hour, there has been a major announcement in the UK patents world from the Minister for IP, Mr Sam Gyimah MP at IPAN's World IP Day event on the House of Commons Terrace in Westminster:   The UK has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement. 

Sam Gyimah MP

This is a momentous day for patent litigators in the UK, and for the other 24 nations who are signatories to the UPC Agreement, given that the UK is one of the three required signatories who must ratify the UPCA for it to come into force, alongside France (ratified) and Germany (not yet ratified). 

So the UK has fallen into line on the UPC, notwithstanding the Brexit referendum result.  The UK's position and role within the UPC may have been trickier if the UK had not ratified before 29 March 2019 - the date that the UK is due to leave the EU.  The UK's timely ratification is therefore welcome news for proponents of the UPC. 

And so now all eyes turn to Germany.  What are you waiting for? Oh yes, the outcome of the constitutional challenge as reported by the IPKat here, here and here...


Postscript in response to various queries: you can now find the official record of the UK's ratification here.