The UK, still a member of the European Union, deposited on April 26th, 2018 its instrument of ratification of the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

With the United Kingdom there are now 16 member states which have ratified the UPC Agreement, the other 15 countries being: Austria, France, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Malta, Luxembourg, Portugal, Finland, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Italy, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

For the UPC Agreement to effectively enter into force, Germany’s ratification is still necessary. German ratification was put on hold after the filing of a complaint against the UPC before the Federal Constitutional Court. The case has been listed for hearing during this year.

The role of the UK in the UPC in the long term is still to be determined. After the UK leaves the EU, part of the wording of the Agreement will have to be amended.

The future of the UPC is thus still uncertain, but with the UK’s ratification the UPC is now closer to becoming a reality.