A seat at the table

Alan Johnson looks at the scenarios for the Unified Patent Court and the UK’s departure from the European Union

Alan Johnson, Bristows

Despite the referendum in the UK on 23 June 2016 to decide ifthe UK should stay in the EU or leave, the UK shortly after reaffirmed its commitment to being a part of the unitary patent/UPC system, and duly ratified the treaty which is the UPC Agreement (the “UPCA”) in April 2018. Hence, if the legality of the system under the German constitution had not been challenged and Germany had been able to proceed with its ratification, the UPC would have started by now with the UK in it.