Category: Ratification

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Unitary Patent ratification process maps

EU Map

 

Map indicating the countries which participated in the enhanced cooperation on the UPC:

Orange: Countries which participated in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection Yellow: Countries which did not participate in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection
Orange: Countries which participated in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection
Yellow: Countries which did not participate in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection

 

 

Map of the UPC Agreement Signatory States:

Pink: Countries which signed the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on 19/02/2013 (except Bulgaria which signed on 05/03/2013) Yellow: Countries which did not sign the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court
Pink: Countries which signed the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on 19/02/2013 (except Bulgaria which signed on 05/03/2013)
Yellow: Countries which did not sign the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

 

 Map indicating the countries which have already ratified the UPC Agreement: 

 

Red Rectangles: Member States which have ratified the UPC Agreement Austria: 06/08/2013 France: 14/03/2014 Sweden: 05/06/2014 Belgium: 06/06/2014 Denmark: 20/06/2014 Malta: 09/12/2014 Luxemburg: 22/05/2015
Red Rectangles: Member States which have ratified the UPC Agreement
Austria: 06/08/2013
France: 14/03/2014
Sweden: 05/06/2014
Belgium: 06/06/2014
Denmark: 20/06/2014
Malta: 09/12/2014
Luxemburg: 22/05/2015

Source: Council of the European Union

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Unitary Patent ratification process table.

Unitary patent – ratification progress

Member State Participation in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection Signature of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court Ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court
AT Austria  Yes 19.02.2013 
 06.08.2013
BE Belgium  Yes 19.02.2013 
 06.06.2014
BG Bulgaria  Yes 05.03.2013 
HR Croatia  No  No
CZ Czech Republic  Yes 19.02.2013 
CY Cyprus  Yes 19.02.2013 
DE Germany  Yes 19.02.2013 
DK Denmark  Yes 19.02.2013 
  20.06.2014
EE Estonia  Yes 19.02.2013 
GR Greece  Yes 19.02.2013 
FI Finland  Yes 19.02.2013 
  19.01.2016
FR France  Yes 19.02.2013 
  14.04.2014
HU Hungary  Yes 19.02.2013 
IE Ireland  Yes 19.02.2013 
IT Italy  Yes 19.02.2013 
LV Latvia  Yes 19.02.2013 
LT Lithuania  Yes 19.02.2013 
LU Luxembourg  Yes 19.02.2013 
  22.05.2015
MT Malta  Yes 19.02.2013 
  09.12.2014
NL The Netherlands  Yes 19.02.2013 
PL Poland  Yes  No
PT Portugal  Yes 19.02.2013 
  28.08.2015
RO Romania  Yes 19.02.2013 
SK Slovakia Yes 19.02.2013 
SI Slovenia  Yes 19.02.2013 
ES Spain  No  No
SE Sweden  Yes 19.02.2013 
  05.06.2014
UK United Kingdom  Yes 19.02.2013 

Source: Council of the European Union

Portugal: The Portugese Parliament passed on 10/04/2015 a passed a motion brought by the Council of Ministers to approve the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. The ratification will however only be finalised after the presidential assent will be proclaimed by decree. Portugal will then need to deposit its instrument of ratification in Brussels for it to be effective. Moreover, according to Bristows UPC “the Commission for Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities, which studied the motion before it was voted by the full Assembly, highlighted the need for Portugal to establish a local division of the UPC, although the government has not yet formally expressed a view on the subject, and it was generally thought previously that Portugal would not set up a local division.“

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A referendum in Denmark to join the UPC

Encouraging steps by participating member states towards the entry into force of the UPC Agreement

Danes will vote in May 2014 on whether or not to join the EU’s Unified Patent Court.

 As Denmark has an opt-out from EU legislation on justice, more than 80% of MPs have to support Denmark joining the Unified Patent Court. If the government fails to gather such support it must call a referendum.

However, while the Danish centre-left government is in favour of joining the Unified Patent Court, the anti-EU parties in the parliament, the semi-communist Red-Green Alliance and the right-wing nationalist Danish People’s Party, have been blocking an agreement.

The Danish People’s Party (right-wing nationalist party) had demanded that the government either set up new rules for EU migrants in an attempt to avoid ‘benefits tourism’ or promise a referendum on the banking union, which Denmark, as a non-euro country, still has to decide on, in return for backing the Unified Patent Court.

In August, Danish opposition leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen told Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt to give the Danish People’s Party “whatever it takes” to get the party to support the patent court. However, on December 19th 2013 Danish Minister for EU Affairs Nick Hækkerup confirmed that a referendum would take place on 25 May 2014, the same day as the European Parliament elections in Denmark.

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Denmark might be joining the Unified Patent Court within the next few months:

Encouraging steps by participating member states towards the entry into force of the UPC Agreement

According to the newspaper Berlingske Tidende the Danish Government has included a bill in its legislative proposals to join the Unified Patent Court. The Minister for Trade and European Affairs, Nick Hækkerup declared about the bill that “(the) roadmap is to publish (the government’s proposals) and argue why the parliament should support this. It’s so obviously in our interest because it would also protect the inventions that are being made in Denmark”. It will not however be straightforward for Denmark to join the UPC. In fact because Denmark has an opt-out from EU legislation on Justice, if more than 80% of its MPs decide to vote against the bill, the Danish government will need to call for a referendum.

 

More information here.

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Austria is the first Member state country to ratify the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court:

Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on provisional application

On 7th August 2013, Austria became the first country to ratify the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court. However for the UPC Agreement to enter into force, thirteen instrument of ratification, including Germany, France and the United Kingdom are deposited.

 

France introduced a bill for the ratification of the UPC Agreement on 23rd October in the French Senate. For more information see “News: Ratification of the UPC Agreement by the French Prime Minister”

 

In the United Kingdom, the UPC Agreement was laid before Parliament on 14 June 2013. The Agreement must also be given effect in UK law before it can be ratified. This will mean making changes to UK law to ensure that it complies with the provisions of the UPC Agreement. The first step of this process is provided for in the Intellectual Property Bill introduced into Parliament on 9 May 2013. Clause 17 of the IP Bill will enable the Government to make the detailed changes to UK law at a later date using secondary legislation which will be considered by both Houses of Parliament.


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