F. JIMENEZ MECA/shutterstock.com
The competence in various areas of the new Unified Patent Court is a matter of conjecture, as Paul England and Christof Höhne of law firm Taylor Wessing report.
News has emerged from the July 10 meeting of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Preparatory Committee that it is considering a ‘provisional operation’ period for the new court, starting in January 2016.
The provisional period would allow appointment of a registrar and other key roles, and further ratifications of the UPC agreement by contracting member states. It would also allow the recording of opt-outs of European (‘classical’) patents, instead of the earlier proposed sunrise period.
The period would run until a formal start date for the court, in autumn 2016 at the earliest. The formal start date would then allow for the lodging of the court’s first cases. The provisional operation period is yet to be confirmed officially, but it would bring forward the date at which European patents can be opted-out, compared with the previous estimates of sometime in 2017–2018.
You need a subscription to continue reading this content.
Start a subscription today to access the LSIPR website.
To access the full archive, digital magazines and special reports you will need to take out a paid subscription.
News stories up to a week old and feature articles on the day of publication are accessible with a BASIC FREE ACCOUNT.
Register here for free content, or subscribe for access to archive.
If you have already subscribed please login.
If you have any technical issues please email tech support.
For access to the complete website, archive, and to receive print publications, choose '12 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION'. For a free, two-week trial with full access, select ‘TWO WEEK FREE TRIAL’; and for basic access to the latest news on the website and weekly email news alerts choose the 'BASIC FREE ACCOUNT' registration.
UPC, Unified Patent Court, unitary patent, European patent,
