UK remains “fully on track”
A UK IPO spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the UK government’s preparations to ratify the UPC Agreement (UPCA) “remain fully on track, with the next legal steps being taken after Easter”. The UK has already passed necessary legislation for UPCA ratification so one of the next steps is to implement the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the UPC. The Protocol will enter into force after UK, France, Germany and Luxembourg (key hosts of the UPC) have approved it.
This UK IPO statement came following rumours that triggering Article 50 before ratification indicated a U-turn by the government. In response to a parliamentary question about the UPC, the UK IP Minister Joseph Johnson also confirmed that preparations continue but said participation post-Brexit will be part of Brexit negotiations.
German parliament approves UPCA bills
The Bundestag has approved draft legislation to transpose the UPC Agreement and Unitary Patent regulations into German law. The next major step is for the Bundesrat (the upper chamber) to endorse them; thereafter, the remaining procedures will be administrative in nature.
Like the UK, Germany is also implementing the UPC Immunities Protocol. Last year a spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of Justice told Managing IP that the process could be completed this spring.
Preparatory Committee concludes work
The Committee met for the last time on March 15 to discuss the remaining aspects of its work including judicial recruitment and IT. According to the minutes of the meeting, the Committee remains optimistic that Germany and the UK will soon conclude their respective legislative procedures for UPCA ratification to enable its provisional phase to start “at the end of May 2017”.
Last year the EPO Select Committee concluded its own preparations for the Unitary Patent, and the confident EPO President Benoît Battistelli has again confirmed that his office is ready administer the system.
Next major developments expected
If all goes to plan, the following will happen in the coming months:
● UPCA ratification or approval thereof by Germany and the UK (expected by end of May);
● entry into force of the UPCA Protocol (expected by end of May);
● ratification by other member states including Slovenia, Lithuania and Latvia;
● start of sunrise period for opt-outs (expected in September);
● appointment of judges (expected after May); and
● UPC starts operation (expected in December).
UK Parliament discuss Brexit law
The UK Parliament has started discussing the impending Great Repeal Bill following the publication of the government’s White Paper for the bill. Brexit Secretary David Davis (pictured left), who appeared before Parliament yesterday, reiterated the government’s position that the UK will end the jurisdiction of the CJEU in the UK.
The bill aims to achieve three main things: (a) repeal the European Communities Act; (b) convert all EU laws (including giving precedence to CJEU case law) into UK legislation so that they will continue to apply after Brexit; and (c) enable appropriate changes to be made to any converted law. Presumably, this would mean that EU Regulations concerning IP, such as for the Unitary Patent, when in force, and the SPC Regulation, will be converted.
Read our latest article on Brexit for more information.
EU unveils Brexit approach
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have tabled a draft resolution setting out conditions for the negotiations and withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK. Chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt (pictured right) is one of the authors.
The resolution states, among other things, that any deal (including transitional arrangements) should provide legal certainty for companies, clarify the status of the international commitments the UK made as an EU member (such as Paris Agreement and arguably the UPCA) and respect “the integrity of European Union's legal order”, especially the CJEU’s role. For more detail see paragraphs 17, 22 and 28.
These three conditions seem relevant to the issues raised after the referendum regarding UK’s participation in the UPC system.
This draft resolution will be debated and voted on in a plenary session of the European Parliament next week Wednesday.
The European Council this morning issued its own draft guidelines, expressing similar principles and objectives, and will meet on April 29 to adopt them. Among other things, the Council’s document talks about the need for sincere cooperation between the UK and the EU to achieve EU priorities until Brexit (the Unitary Patent system could be said to be one of them) and post-Brexit plans for existing EU-related legal proceedings (which would include those before the CJEU and EU agencies like the EUIPO).
The European Commission has published its fact sheet on the process, and the European Parliament’s is here. For a detailed explanation of the parties involved, and their level of influence, see here.
Follow our coverage of Brexit at www.managingip.com/Brexit and the Unitary Patent and UPC, including our UPC case scenarios, at www.managingip.com/upc
