Prospective users of the Unified Patent Court will be given another chance to practise key tasks in the court’s case management system, a statement confirmed yesterday, January 30.
A test period will run from February 13 to 24 and will allow users to practise completing the tasks they will need to carry out when the court’s three-month sunrise period begins in April.
It is the second such test period after an initial trial which ran from November 28 until December 16 last year.
Users will need a strong authentication device to access the test CMS during the practice period.
The sunrise period was delayed from its scheduled January 1 start date after users reported issues with obtaining strong authentication devices.
The UPC has since published a list of approved providers that comply with the EU’s electronic identification regulations.
In the latest statement, the UPC also said it would publish a guide on how to create an account with strong authentication before the test period begins.
All data from the previous test period has been wiped.
During the sunrise period, users will be able to opt out patents from the new system and register as a representative before the UPC.
The court is scheduled to open on June 1, three months later than originally planned.
