The German government has deposited its instrument of ratification of the UPC Agreement today. This means the UPC is confirmed to commence operation on 1st June 2023 and consequently, the sunrise period is now confirmed to start on 1st March 2023. Opt out requests can be filed from this date. It is anticipated that a large number of opt-out requests will be filed towards the end of the sunrise period and proprietors are encouraged to avoid this busy time by preparing for and filing any desired opt-out requests as early as possible.
Patent holders should also note that the European Patent Office has been accepting requests for delay of grant and early requests for Unitary Patents since 1st January – this means any patent application for which delay has been filed will now grant after 1st June 2023.
Today, the German government deposited its instrument of ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) with the Council of the European Union. The step marks the successful completion of the necessary ratification procedures by the participating EU member states for the Unitary Patent Package to become effective for currently 17 states. The new system is now ready to enter into operation on 1 June 2023. More countries are expected to join in the future.
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