The Netherlands last week became the eleventh country to officially ratify the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court.  Meanwhile, Italy has begun moves towards ratification, with the necessary legislation having been approved by one chamber of the Italian parliament.

With eleven ratifications having been reached, this means that only Germany and the UK now need to ratify the Agreement in order for the Court and the Unitary Patent to become reality.  As I noted here the other day, however, the UK’s intentions are currently unclear following the recent “Brexit” referendum result.  It remains to be seen whether the UK will ratify the Agreement, or whether the whole project is delayed until the UK eventually leaves the EU.

“For the UPC to be implemented, 13 countries—including the UK, France and Germany—need to ratify the agreement. So far, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and France have ratified it.”

http://www.worldipreview.com/news/netherlands-ratifies-upc-italy-to-implement-legislation-12240