Austria’s parliament approved a key piece of legislation on the Unified Patent Court today, December 2, meaning the final stage of preparations for the court is nearly ready to begin.
Austria’s Federal Council unanimously approved the Protocol on the Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement , two weeks after the parliament’s lower house passed it.
The provisional application period (PAP) involves the final preparations for the UPC opening its doors, such as the hiring of judges and the implementation of a bespoke IT system.
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When Austria formally ratifies the protocol and deposits its instrument of ratification, it will trigger the beginning of the PAP.
A spokesperson for the Austrian Patent Office confirmed to Managing IP that the legislation must now be signed and countersigned by the president and the federal chancellor.
It can then be published in the Federal Gazette, allowing Austria to deposit its instrument of ratification.
The UPC’s preparatory committee has estimated it will need at least eight months to complete the final preparations during the PAP.
The committee has maintained its ambition for the court to become operational before the end of next year, having initially targeted a mid-2022 start date.
Managing IP exclusively reported in September that Slovenia had ratified the protocol. That left only Germany and one other country – now Austria – to ratify.
