News

Provisional Application Period (PAP) of the UPC has commenced

Posted: January 19, 2022

On Tuesday, 18 January, Austria deposited its instrument of ratification of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC agreement. Accordingly, the Protocol on the Provisional Application (PPA) has come into effect.

The provisional implementation process includes the recruitment of staff for the UPC, notably judges. The next stage will be the final implementation, the countdown for which will be triggered by Germany depositing its instrument of ratification of the UPC agreement. Most estimates are that final implementation will occur in late 2022 or early 2023.

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) will provide a common international court for litigating European patents in participating EU Member States in relation to infringement and validity of both Unitary Patents and European patents, thereby providing a single procedure in place of possible parallel litigation. Companion Unitary Patents (UPs) will make it possible to obtain patent protection in up to 24 EU Member States by submitting a single request to the EPO, providing a simpler and more cost-effective procedure for applicants.

Although the UK will not participate in the UPC, all Forresters’ attorneys who are dual qualified as both UK & European Patent Attorneys will maintain rights of audience before the UPC.

For further information in relation to the UPC and UP, please contact Jack Gunning or your usual Forresters contact.