12 member states have ratified the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement so far: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Finland. For the UPCA to entry into force, ratification by the United Kingdom and Germany is still needed.

According to the UPC Preparatory Committee, UK might ratify the UPC Agreement in March 2017 and has political will to stay in Unitary Patent system post-Brexit. On the other hand, Germany’s draft legislation authorising ratification of the Agreement on the UPC is to be discussed this week in the German parliament. If both countries ratify, the Court might start its operations in December 2017 according to the Committee.