The UK’s participation in Europe’s unified patent court (UPC) hangs in the balance in the event of no deal being reached on the UK’s ‘Brexit’ departure from the European Union (EU) in March 2019, according to guidance issued by the UK government on intellectual-property (IP) issues relating to pharmaceuticals, including patents and supplementary protection certificates (SPCs). But even with no deal, the UK will continue to offer SPCs.
On the unitary patent and UPC, the guidance notes that it is currently “unclear whether the UPC and unitary patent will start before 29 March 2019”, given that the start...