On 20 March 2020, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled against the approval of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC). German approval was necessary for the Unitary patent to take effect.
According to the court, approval of the Agreement would be contrary to the German constitution, because the law by which Germany would accede to the treaty was not passed by the required two-thirds parliamentary majority.
The decision of the German court puts a hold on the Unitary Patent, and if it does come to pass at all, a significant delay of several years is expected.
The original decision can be found here.
Please check our website to keep up to date with the latest developments regarding the Unitary patent. Please also check our file on this subject. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our advisors.