Skip to content

Menu

LexBlog, Inc. logo
NetworkSub-MenuBrowse by SubjectBrowse by PublisherBrowse by ChannelAbout the NetworkJoin the NetworkProductsSub-MenuProducts OverviewBlog ProBlog PlusBlog PremierMicrositeSyndication PortalsAbout UsContactSubscribeSupport
Book a Demo
Search
Close

Germany Ratifies EU Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement, but Prospects for the UPC Remain Uncertain

By Benjamin Beck, Maximilian Kücking & Charlotte Lehmann on August 18, 2021
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn

On 7 August 2021, Germany formally ratified the Agreement on a Unified EU Patent Court (“UPC Agreement“). The ratification came after battles in recent years over the constitutionality of the ratification bill. In 2017, the German ratification was put on hold because a constitutional complaint had argued that the German law approving the UPC Agreement was passed without the required quorum of the German Parliament. After the German parliamentarians fixed their mistake and approved the draft law with a two-thirds majority on 26 November 2020, the ratification was stopped for a second time due to two applications for an interim injunction against the ratification bill. On 23 June 2021, both complaints were held inadmissible by the Federal Constitutional Court as the complainants had failed to sufficiently substantiate a possible violation of their fundamental rights.

The ratification concludes the German national ratification process, but the prospects of the Unified EU Patent Court and the EU Unitary Patent entering into force anytime soon remain uncertain, especially after the UK ceased to be a member of the EU in 2020.

The Idea of a Unitary European Patent

 At present, patent protection in Europe can be obtained through either national patents, issued by the respective national offices, or European patents, granted by the European Patent Office. However, despite the name suggesting otherwise, a European patent is not a unitary property right with effect for the entire EU but only a ‘bundle’ of individual national patents. Judicial relief can only be obtained on a national level and only applies to the territory of each respective member state.

On 19 February 2013, Germany, together with 24 other EU member states, signed the UPC Agreement, which is part of a regulatory package on patents that ultimately aims to introduce a European patent with unitary effect at the EU level. The entering into force of the UPC Agreement will complete the reform of the European patent system, which has long been pursued. The UPC Agreement provides for the establishment of a Unified Patent Court as a court common to all participating member states for disputes concerning European patents and European patents with unitary effect. The UPC would have exclusive jurisdiction over various types of patent disputes such as nullity and infringement actions.

Requirements for Entry into Force

The UPC Agreement was conceived as an international treaty between the participating EU member states and, as such, requires ratification in each member state. According to Art. 89(1) of the UPC Agreement, it shall enter into force once 13 member states have ratified it, including the three member states in which the highest number of European patents had effect in 2012 (Germany, UK and France).

Quo Vadis, UPC?

As of today, Germany and 15 other EU member states, including France, have ratified the UPC Agreement. And although the German ratification has removed one major obstacle, others have arisen as a result of the UK ceasing to be an EU member state and withdrawing its UPC ratification in 2020. Not only was the UK required to ratify the UPC Agreement, but also one of the branches of the UPC’s central division was supposed to have a seat in London. There is ongoing debate on whether the member state with the fourth highest number of European patent applications in 2012 (likely Italy) can simply replace the UK. The Preparatory Committee for the UPC is currently discussing the consequences of the UK’s withdrawal and will announce the way forward on its website soon.

 

This article was originally published on AllAboutIP – Mayer Brown’s blog on relevant developments in the fields of intellectual property and unfair competition law.

Photo of Benjamin Beck Benjamin Beck

Benjamin Beck is an associate in Mayer Brown’s Düsseldorf office and a member of the Intellectual Property practice.

Publications

Post GDPR Enforcement in Germany — A Sneak Peek, in: Privacy & Data Protection Journal (PDP), 2019, No. 5, p. 16-17, with Dr. Ulrich…

Benjamin Beck is an associate in Mayer Brown’s Düsseldorf office and a member of the Intellectual Property practice.

Publications

Post GDPR Enforcement in Germany — A Sneak Peek, in: Privacy & Data Protection Journal (PDP), 2019, No. 5, p. 16-17, with Dr. Ulrich Worm

Annotation to Higher Regional Court of Berlin (Kammergericht Berlin), Germany, Judgment of 25 September 2018 — (4) 161 Ss 28/18 (35/18), in: Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht (EuZW), 2019, No. 1, p. 42-46, with Dr. Dominik König

Die Wirksamkeit von sog. „Nicht-Einsatz-Klauseln“ für den Wettbewerb der Fußball-Bundesliga, in: Zeitschrift für Sport und Recht (SpuRt), 2019, No. 1, p. 2-6, with Patrick Schulz

Bitcoin and Money, in: Leslie Thompson, Jean-Toussaint Pindi, Stephanie Amar-Flood (ed.), Anglais appliqué: Economie, Gestion, Droit, AES, 4th ed. 2018, p. 44-45

GDPR Implications for Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies, in: SA Financial Regulation Journal, 19.06.2018, with Dr. Ulrich Worm

Yoga and Copyright, in: WIPO Magazine, 2017, No. 3, p. 44-45, with Konstantin von Werder

Annotation to Administrative Court of Frankfurt am Main (Verwaltungsgericht Frankfurt), Germany, Judgment of 31 October 2016 — 1 K 2903/15.F, in: Kommunikation & Recht (K&R), 2017, No. 2, p. 142-144, with Dr. Dominik König

IP scenarios in a Brexit world, in: World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR), 18.07.2016, with Dr. Ulrich Worm

Судебная практика в Германии / Court practice in Germany, in: Интеллектуальная собственность Казахстана (Intellectual property of Kazakhstan), 2016, No. 1, p. 13-16, with Ana Elisa Bruder and Konstantin von Werder

Oktoberfest for the UPC?, in: World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR), 24.03.2016, with Dr. Ulrich Worm

Die immaterialgüterrechtliche Schutzfähigkeit von „Affen-Selfies“, in: Zeitschrift für Urheber- und Medienrecht (ZUM), Vol. 60 (2016), No. 1, p. 34-38, with Dominik König

Bitcoins als Gegenstand von sekundären Leistungspflichten. Erfassung dem Grunde und der Höhe nach, in: Archiv für die civilistische Praxis (AcP), Vol. 215 (2015), No. 5, p. 655-682, with Dominik König

Annotation to CJEU, Judgment of 22 October 2015 — C‑264/14 — David Hedqvist, in: Umsatzsteuer-Rundschau (UR), 2015, No. 22, p. 864-871, with Dominik König

Court considers likelihood of confusion between word marks using same letters in different order, in: World Trademark Review Daily, 25.09.2015, with Konstantin von Werder

Do Bitcoins Fulfil the Classic Economic Functions of Money? An Analysis and its Legal Implications, published online on lichter-filmfest.de on 09.03.2015

Bitcoins als Geld im Rechtssinne, in: Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW), Vol. 68 (2015), No. 9, p. 580-586

Bitcoin: Der Versuch einer vertragstypologischen Einordnung von kryptographischem Geld, in: JuristenZeitung (JZ), Vol. 70 (2015), No. 3, p. 130-138, with Dominik König

Klinische und rechtliche Aspekte einer Abstinenzkontrolle unter besonderer Berücksichtigung kontinuierlicher transdermaler Alkoholmessung, in: Blutalkohol – Alcohol, Drugs and Behavior (BA), Vol. 50 (2013), No. 4, p. 153-167

Elektronische Fußfessel – Fluch oder Segen der Kriminalpolitik?, in: Schriftenreihe der Stiftung der Hessischen Rechtsanwaltschaft, Vol. 2 (2011), p. 65-94

Read more about Benjamin BeckEmail
Show more Show less
  • Posted in:
    Intellectual Property
  • Blog:
    All About IP
  • Organization:
    Mayer Brown

LexBlog, Inc. logo
Facebook LinkedIn Twitter RSS
Real Lawyers
99 Park Row
  • About LexBlog
  • Careers
  • Press
  • Contact LexBlog
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Service
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Products
  • Blog Pro
  • Blog Plus
  • Blog Premier
  • Microsite
  • Syndication Portals
  • LexBlog Community
  • Resource Center
  • 1-800-913-0988
  • Submit a Request
  • Support Center
  • System Status
  • Resource Center
  • Blogging 101

New to the Network

  • Tennessee Insurance Litigation Blog
  • Claims & Sustains
  • New Jersey Restraining Order Lawyers
  • New Jersey Gun Lawyers
  • Blog of Reason
Copyright © 2025, LexBlog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Law blog design & platform by LexBlog LexBlog Logo