THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT: GERMAN RATIFICATION NOW AND A NEW PROTOCOL AGREEMENT BEFORE BREXIT

Europe’s Unified Patent Court would be the culminations of decades of work towards a single forum to prosecute and litigate patents in Europe. The most recent iteration of Europe’s patent court, framed in 2012, has yet to come to fruition. This system would restrict membership in the court system to European Union Member-States. The treaty chartering the court system has yet to be ratified fully due to a constitutional challenge in Germany. This lack of formation in tandem with the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union brings into question the entire propose court system, six years into the ratification process. The best outcome for all in this situation is that the foundational treaty of the United Patent Court be ratified as soon as possible while the U.K. is still in its two-year withdrawal period from the EU