Development of the EU patent with uniform effect

February 2022
Meeting of EPO President António Campinos with Alexander Ramsay, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Unified Patent Court, and representatives of the participating member states to launch preparations for the start of the Unified Patent Court.

January 2022
The Protocol on Provisional Application of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court entered into force on January 19, 2022, with the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Austria. This marked the beginning of the phase of provisional application of the UPC, which is expected to last eight months.

December 2021
Austria adopted the Protocol to the Unified Patent Court on December 02, 2021 as the 13th and thus last necessary state.

October 2021
Slovenia followed Germany on October 15, 2021, leaving only one member state short of the required 13 before preparations for the UPC can begin.

September 2021
Germany ratified the Protocol on Provisional Application of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on September 12, 2021. The instrument of ratification was deposited on September 27, 2021.

July 2021
In its decision of June 23, 2021 (2 BvR 2216/20, 2 BvR 2217/20), the BVerfG dismissed two applications for a temporary injunction against ratification. The constitutional complaints were inadmissible on the merits, as the complainants had not sufficiently substantiated the possibility of a violation of their fundamental rights.

July 2020
The United Kingdom announced its withdrawal from the UPC system on July 20, 2020. The withdrawal notification of ratification was deposited. Formal withdrawal of ratification followed on July 28, 2020.

February 2020
In its decision of 13 February 2020 (BvR 739/17), the BVerfG declared the German Act Approving the UPCA formally unconstitutional.