Bulgaria ratifies Unified Patent Court Agreement
On 03 June 2016, the number of ratifications of the UPC Agreement increased to ten with the notification by Bulgaria that it had completed its ratification.
This leaves three further ratifications needed for the UPC Agreement timetable to commence, which must include the UK and Germany (France ratified some time ago).
With the provisional application period intended to be applicable for a period of up to about six months before commencement, what is likely to happen is that one of the UK or Germany will hold back formal notification to allow that earlier period to commence, and then formally notify at a time when it is agreed that the countdown to opening should start.
We will post further updates on timing as they become available.
Keep up to date with ratification of the UPC Agreement
You can also find the current status of ratification on the Council of the European Union website: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/agreements-conventions/agreement/?aid=2013001t.