Another constitutional referendum is on the way, as the government wishes Ireland to participate in the European Unitary Patent system and Unified Patent Court and joining the project will require constitutional change.

Of 27 EU member states, 24 have already signed up to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, which will be an international court set up by the participating member states to deal with the infringement and validity of both unitary patents and European patents. Its rulings will apply in all member states that have ratified the UPCA.

Enterprise minister Leo Varadkar (pictured) explained: “A single Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court is good for business and for SMEs. It will save money and time and give all parties more certainty.

“We will consider the other referenda we have coming up and see how best to fit this one in. It won’t be a standalone referendum, so it won’t be held this year but could be next year or concurrent with the local and European Elections in 2024.

"It’s important to prepare.  I’m conscious that it will need a good public information campaign to explain its significance and that takes time, resources and planning.”

In Association with

Ireland has committed to establishing a local division of the court to operate the terms of the agreement, subject to the successful passage of a constitutional amendment.

The 16 member states that have ratified the UPCA are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden.

Those that have signed up but must yet ratify are Cyprus, Czechia, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, and Slovakia.

The start of the court’s operations will be triggered once Germany ratifies the agreement.

National patents granted by national patent offices are not affected.

In the event of a legal dispute arising from patent infringement or invalidation, the UPC will enable patent proprietors to defend or challenge a patent via a single litigation process, instead of having to take multiple actions in individual member states. 

The government says this will save them money and time, provide easier, faster, and more efficient judicial procedures and enhance legal certainty through harmonised case law in the areas of patent infringements and validity.

According to the Department of Enterprise, other business benefits of the agreement will be:

• Reduced costs for patent proprietors with substantial savings on renewal fees
• A simplified court system allowing for consistency of judicial approach in patent cases with effect in all participating member states
• Less red tape — no need to deal with multiple national court systems to enforce patent rights in participating member states
• Greater choice for innovators, researchers, businesses, and SMEs
• Once the unitary patent comes into effect, patent owners will be able to choose between the protection of a national patent, a traditional European Patent, or the unitary patent. 

Access to a streamlined Europe-wide patent protection may act as an incentive for Irish businesses to export to a greater number of countries, the minister claimed, and a local division hosted in Ireland would enable Irish businesses to litigate on Irish soil and create a wider pool of national skills and competences in intellectual property in, for example, legal services and patent agencies.