Reply

5.5.2017

The Council is continuously monitoring the entry into operation of the EU ‘unitary patent system’, consisting of two Regulations on a European patent with unitary effect and an agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA).

The UPCA is an international agreement — concluded outside the legal framework of the European Union — which is subject to ratification by those Member States which are parties to it. Not all the instruments of ratification required by Article 89 of the UPCA to enable the agreement to enter into force have been deposited to date.

At its meeting on 20 February 2017, the Council noted that several delegations had reported that good progress was being made in their national ratification procedures.