It was announced yesterday, 5 December 2022, that the commencement date for the Sunrise Period will be delayed from 1 January until 1 March 2023. From this later date it will be possible to file an opt-out of existing European patents from the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The additional time will allow future users to prepare themselves for the strong authentication which will be required to access the Case Management System (CMS) and to sign documents. Further detailed information on the authentication process is available on the UPC 's website. The website contains an initial list of service providers who meet the UPC's required technical standards.
Filing an Opt-Out
The option to file an opt-out is not yet available. Any link to the UPC's CMS will lead to a test site, which allows users to lodge a test application to opt-out a patent. Once the Sunrise Period is imminent, test applications lodged on the CMS will be discarded, and a fresh application must be lodged to register an effective opt-out.
Register as a representative
Similarly, the option to register as a representative before the UPC has yet to be made available. The possibility to register as a representative will be available as of the start of the Sunrise Period.
For further information, see our previous William Fry articles and updates on the UPC, linked below:
- Ireland to Hold Referendum to Participate in the Single Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court
- A Further Update on the Unified Patent Court
- The European Unified Patent Court – is it Finally within Reach?
- The Unified Patent Court – An Idea Worth Protecting?
- Further Delays to Ratification of Unified Patent Court Agreement
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