More than 27,000 unitary patents have been successfully registered by the European Patent Office (EPO) in the first year since the system was launched. Around 350 cases have so far been initiated before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which enables centralised litigation not only for unitary patents
Unified Patent Court
Most in-house lawyers have yet to form an opinion for or against Ireland's participation in the new Unified Patent Court (UPC), a survey by Mason Hayes & Curran suggests. The business law firm surveyed 240 lawyers from various sectors, finding that two-thirds (66 per cent) had not decided how to
A referendum to allow Ireland to participate in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) should take place this November alongside the planned referendum on gender equality, the government has been told. The Unified Patent Court Agreement, establishing a common patent court for EU member states, is set to fin
A referendum on Ireland's participation in the European Unitary Patent system and Unified Patent Court (UPC) could take place in 2023 or 2024, the government has said. Of EU member states, 24 have signed up to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) and 16 of those have ratified the agreement
There is no imminent referendum on Ireland's ratification of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) despite misleading reports to that effect, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said. The Law Society Gazette claimed this week that Robert Troy, minister of state for trade promotion, had a
The UK will not seek to become a member of the proposed Unified Patent Court (UPC) despite earlier suggestions that it would, government officials have confirmed. An international agreement to establish the court was signed by most EU member states in 2013, but it is not an EU institution and the pr