The international agreement for establishing a Unified Patent Court (UPC) was signed on the 19th of February. According to the Council, the new court will avoid the occurrence of multiple court cases with regard to the same patent in different member states. Bulgaria is expected to sign in the coming days once internal procedures have been completed. Poland and Spain did not sign the agreement.

The international agreement for establishing a Unified Patent Court (UPC) was signed on 19th of February in Brussels. The Council reported that Poland and Spain did not sign the agreement, and Bulgaria is expected to sign in the coming days once internal procedures have been completed. Following the signing of the agreement, the ratification process by national parliaments can start. At least 13 member states will have to ratify the agreement for it to enter into force. The Council adopted two regulations on the unitary patent in December 2012.

The UPC will be a court common to the contracting member states and thus subject to the same obligations under Union law as any  national court. According to the Council, the new court will avoid the occurrence of multiple court cases with regard to the same patent in different member states.

The Council highlighted that the UPC will also prevent contradictory court rulings on the same issues. It will also reduce costs of patent litigation. The agreement reached on the UPC, it is an international agreement concluded outside the EU institutional framework. The UPC is the third element of the “patent package”. The two regulations establishing enhanced cooperation for unitary patent protection and its translation arrangements were adopted published on the Official Journal 31 of December 2012.