UPC Protocol on Provisional Application has entered into force on 19.01.2022

Yesterday, Austria was the 13th state to deposit its instrument of ratification of the Protocol on Provisional Application (“PAP-Protocol”) of the UPC Agreement with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. The Protocol has entered into force today in accordance with its Article 3(1).

As a consequence, certain parts of the UPC Agreement are provisionally in force as of today and the provisional application phase has started.

The provisional application period is intended to provide a smooth transition into the operational phase of the UPC. Under the Protocol, certain institutional, organisational and financial provisions of the UPCA will provisionally be applied among those countries that have declared themselves bound by the Protocol (Article 1 PAP-Protocol). During this period, important issues to be dealt with will include the selection and appointment of judges and staff members, the adoption of secondary legislation and the budget, and the completion of IT system. It can be expected that the governing bodies, especially the Administrative Committee of the UPC, will now be established within the next weeks.

The UPC Agreement itself will enter into force on the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of Germany’s ratification of the UPCA. It is expected that Germany will wait to deposit their instrument of ratification of the UPC Agreement until after the provisional application period has progressed sufficiently for ensuring the proper functioning of the UPC.

Now that the implementation process for the UPC and, consequently for, the Unitary Patent, has officially been started, epi will offer training sessions at different levels (including online courses that will be for free for epi members), targeting the needs of epi members to be prepared for the new system.

Further information can be found at the webpage of the UPC Preparatory Committee.

The regularly updated overview on the ratification process, which has been compiled by the epi Litigation Committee, can be consulted here.