German Parliament Passed Bill On UPC

On November 26, 2020 German Parliament has passed the bill on the UPC – for the second time, yet this time with the needed 2/3-majority. The lower house is expected to pass the bill on December 18, 2020. Thereby, the path has cleared to the UPC opening its gates and unitary patents being available. Formal steps have yet to be taken. However, the first cases before the new court are now expected early 2022. The sunrise period should start sometime in summer 2021.

During this period patent owners will have to deal with question “opt-out or not opt-out” their patents from being handled before the new court.