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See our summary of who's currently in and who's out of the UP/UPC system below.
See the table produced by the Council of Europe which shows which have signed and which states have then ratified (with dates) the UPCA. See also the diagrams on the UPC website home page.
The vast majority of EU Member States participated in the enhanced cooperation procedure to establish the unitary patent via Regulation 1257/2012 of 17 December 2012 (the UP Regulation), including the UK which was then a member of the EU, but has now withdrawn). However unless these EU member states have also ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), the unitary patent (UP) will not be effective in their jurisdictions as the UPC is the only enforcement mechanism available for the UP. Poland participated in the UP Regulation but has not signed the UPCA and so the UP will not have effect there; nor will it apply to Croatia or Spain which have not signed the UPCA or participated in the UP. Since the UK is not in the UPC system (nor in the EU), UPs will not have effect in the UK either.
A UP granted on the first day the UPC only applies to the 17 states that have fully ratified the UPCA (see above) and taken part in the UP Regulation.
EU Member States where the UP does not apply (given the current state of UP participation and UPCA ratification):
NB A UP will only ever have effect in the EU Member States that have both ratified the UPCA and taken part in the UP Regulation at the time that particular patent's unitary status is registered.
Italy Managing Partner, Joint Global Head of Intellectual Property, EMEA Co-Head of Life Sciences, Milan
Partner, Intellectual Property and Global Head of Cyber & Data Security, London
The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only and may not be current as at the date of accessing this publication. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action based on this publication.
© Herbert Smith Freehills 2023
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