UK Formally Withdraws From Unified Patent Court

• Published date: 21 July 2020
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Government, Public Sector, Patent, Constitutional & Administrative Law
• Law Firm: Dehns
• Author: Mr Mark Bell

Today, the United Kingdom has formally withdrawn from the Unified Patent Court (UPC) system. Owing to the UK's withdrawal from the system (as a consequence of Brexit) and a successful constitutional challenge in Germany to Germany's proposed ratification of the UPC agreement, the UPC has yet to come into being.

Months after announcing that the UK would not participate in the UPC, owing to the UPC applying EU law and being bound by the CJEU, the UK has written to the Council Secretariat of the UPC to withdraw the UK's ratification of the UPC agreement. A corresponding statement has also been made in the House of Commons.

The UK's previous ratification of the UPC agreement was made in 2018, despite preparations for Brexit. However, following Boris Johnson taking over as Prime Minister from Theresa May and the general election in December 2019, the UK government issued a paper for the negotiations with the EU relating to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, stating that the UK would not accept any form of oversight from the CJEU or other EU...