Europe gears up for streamlined patent system
Delayed Unified Patent Court set to begin operating in April
Patent law across Europe is changing, with a new court system scheduled to begin in April 2023. The Unified Patent Court (UPC) will operate across up to 25 countries (excluding the UK, since it became ineligible after Brexit) and will ultimately replace the multistep European Patent procedure in these countries. However, the release of the UPC implementation roadmap has met with mixed reactions from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.