EU states sign patent litigation agreement - photos

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

EU states sign patent litigation agreement - photos

Twenty-four of the 27 EU member states today signed the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court

German minister signs

Each state now has to ratify the agreement. Thirteen countries, including France, Germany and the UK, must ratify it before it can come into effect.

The only states not to sign today were Spain, which opposes the unitary patent and UPC plans; Poland, which has some concerns; and Bulgaria, which is expected to sign in the near future.

UK's Vince Cable signs

The signing ceremony was presided over by Irish minister Richard Bruton, who said said the agreement was “a tangible expression of creating a single market in a very important area, the area of patents”.

He added: “it is incumbent on us to complete the patent reform process ... in the months ahead.”

In a speech yesterday, Commissioner Michel Barnier also urged member states to act to ratify the agreement and make sure it works in practice.

Irish minister Richard Bruton and other EU ministers

The Irish presidency has set out the benefits of the proposed system.

But many sceptics remain. The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys in the UK said: “Experts in the patent system have real concerns about the long-term adverse effects the proposed new system is likely to have on the competitiveness of UK businesses.”

CIPA and other bodies are calling for an evidence-based economic impact assessment of the effect on the UK economy before Parliament is asked to ratify the agreement.

EU ministers at UPC signing ceremony

Read Managing IP’s blog post for discussion of what happens next.


All photos courtesy of the Council of the European Union

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Alston & Bird acted for InterDigital, while Samsung was represented by Fish & Richardson, during the arbitration process
Powell Gilbert lawyers reveal how they navigated parallel EPO proceedings and collaborated with European peers to come out on top in the Nordic-Baltic Division’s first judgment
The firms posted increases in revenue and profit per equity partner, with both giving a nod to their IP expertise
EasyGroup, the owner of the easyJet airline, said in a press release that UK-based first-instance judges are “less experienced”, bringing a long-running debate back to the fore
A cross-practice team from Mayer Brown, which included members of the firm’s IP practice, advised on the deal
María Cecilia Romoleroux discusses the challenges she has faced in her career in IP and how she hopes to improve things for the next generation of women
Value-added services give in-house counsel the satisfaction that they are getting more value for money, while law firms get the opportunity to win more work
A team at Boies Schiller Flexner is advising shoe company Kizik and parent company HandsFree Labs in the dispute
Nokia’s latest enforcement actions against Geely and Transsion joining Via LA’s AAC pool were also among the top talking points
Benjamin Kelly, the firm’s fifth IP partner hire in a little over one year, has experience in patent and trade secret disputes involving complex technologies
Gift this article