UK announces withdrawal from the Unified Patent Court system

The Unified Patent (UPC) project, long- awaited by European professionals since 2013, has just suffered another setback with the announcement of the UK's withdrawal on February 28. 

Guylène Kiesel Le Cosquer, Managing Partner at Plasseraud IP and President of the CNCPI, talks to Juve, Europe's leading legal news magazine, about the consequences for the future UPC. 

In line with Brexit and its desire to emancipate itself from the European institutions, Boris Johnson’s government announced, on Friday, February 28, its intention to withdraw from the UPC project. Juve's editorial team gives an overview of the situation, featuring several leading figures in patent and intellectual property litigation in Europe, in a dedicated article:  « What now for UPC? Dismay as UK government rejects participation », available online. 

Although the UK had already ratified the agreement in April 2018 and a location had been chosen in central London to host the future Court, this announcement raises new questions. Guylène Kiesel Le Cosquer believes that "the UK cannot hold the future of such an essential project for Europe in its own hands." She adds that she is confident that "the UPC will happen without the UK, which will, nonetheless, be welcome to return to the negotiating table if it changes its mind again". 

Read Guylène Kiesel's statement and the full article:  « What now for UPC ? Dismay as UK government rejects participation ».