Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know
A referendum on whether Ireland should participate in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will take place in June this year, alongside European and local elections already scheduled, under proposals announced by the Irish government.
The UPC, which became operational on 1 June 2023, is a dedicated judicial system for litigating new unitary patents, and existing European patents that have not been specifically opted-out of the UPC’s jurisdiction.
Participation in the UPC system is open to EU member states, but only if they have signed and ratified the international treaty giving effect to the UPC – the UPC Agreement – in national law. Currently, 17 EU countries participate in the UPC system, with the remaining EU countries yet to complete ratification. Most are expected to do so – only Spain, Croatia and Poland have indicated that they will not participate.
The UPC Agreement would, if implemented in Ireland, result in the Irish courts ceding some jurisdiction in patent litigation matters to the UPC. Such a transfer of sovereignty and judicial powers to the UPC, an international body, requires a referendum under the Irish constitution. If the country votes in favour of participation, the government will then have to lay legislation ratifying the UPC Agreement that it signed in 2013.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said that legislation providing for the referendum to take place “alongside the European and local elections” in June this year will be brought before Ireland’s parliament for approval “in the coming weeks”.
Patent litigation expert Karen Gallagher of Pinsent Masons in Dublin said last year that Ireland is already “an attractive destination for innovative companies to do business” and that participation in the UPC system would further enhance that reputation.
“Given the UK’s non-participation in the UPC system post-Brexit, Ireland would be the only native English-speaking jurisdiction,” Gallagher said. “It is therefore poised to hold a significant and unique position, not just through the work of the proposed local division [of the UPC planned in Dublin], but also on the wider EU stage.”
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