Austria becomes first country to ratify Unified Patent Court agreement

Austria has become the first country in the EU to ratify consent to the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

The ratification, announced by the Austrian Foreign Ministry, marks a significant step toward the proposed court becoming a reality.

The agreement for a UPC is part of the ‘Unitary Patent Package’ which also includes the creation of a unitary patent right covering the majority of EU states.

The UPC, which will have headquarters in London, Paris and Munich, is designed to simplify the process of patent litigation.

Instead of having to conduct parallel procedures in multiple national courts, parties will arrive at qualified decisions applying to all states in which the patent is valid.

Claiming Austria had assumed a “pioneering role,” with regard to the proposals, Austrian vice-chancellor and foreign minister Michael Spindelegger said he was “proud” to announce its accession.

"Until now, seeking approval for an EU-wide patent was a costly, laborious process that deterred many,” Spindelegger said.

“However, thanks to the agreement reached on the patent package for unified patent protection, things are set to change."

However, according to Christian Gassauer-Fleissner, partner at Gassauer-Fleissner Rechtsanwälte GmbH, in Vienna and current president of the European Patent Lawyers Association, the government had ratified the proposals too soon, leaving “many open issues” pending.

“This concerns the fees which will have to be paid by the users and which will have a considerable impact, in particular to small and medium-sized companies.

“As of now it is still unclear what the costs will be for the users and the republic. However, issues also concern the rules of procedure, which are far from being finalised.”

Claiming the government had previously shown cost-related concerns, Gassauer-Fleissner said it had ignored calls for a localised chamber.

“Despite clear warnings from patent agents and patent lawyers that omitting the creation of a local chamber in Austria will inevitably lead to a brain drain away from Austria, the government, because of uncertainty related to costs, was, and to my knowledge still is, hesitating to create one.”

The agreement will come into force once 13 member states, including the UK, France, Germany, formally ratify the proposals.