Unified Patent Court: Ratification Update:
Jane Lambert Art 89 (1) of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court provides that the Agreement will come into force on the 1st day of the 4th month after the deposit with the Commission of the 13th instrument of ratification or accession including deposits of such instruments by France, Germany and the United Kingdom. According to the Council website , 12 states have deposited instruments of ratification. The last of these was Italy which deposited its instrument on on 12 Feb 2017. Italy's ratification is particularly significant for two reasons. The first is that it had opposed the unitary patent in C-274/11 - Spain and Italy v Commission and others [2013] EUECJ C-274/11 on the grounds that the implementing legislation was incompatible with EU law. The second reason why Italy's participation is significant is that it will be entitled to host one of the sections of the Central Division of the Court of First Instance should the UK be obliged ...