Posted on Thursday 8 June 2017 by Cruickshank Intellectual Property

It has now been announced that the planned commencement of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will not go ahead as planned in December 2017.

Delays in the ratification procedure concerning the UPC Agreement, in particular the ratification of the UPC Agreement by the UK and Germany are thought to be behind this delay. Due to this, it is thought that the entry phase will not commence until at least early to mid- 2018, assuming there are no further delays.

The process of enlisting judges, assessing IT and case management systems will continue as normal, making sure all relevant resources are in place for the expected commencement of the UPC in 2018.

We will update you once we have more information.