Bonum Certa Men Certa

British Technology News Sites Point Out the Absurdity of Ratifying UPC in the UK Amid Brexit

"Even if the UPC does gets [sic] passed, it is still going to take years and significant effort to repair the damage done by Battistelli."

Brexit and UPC



Summary: In the face of Brexit, which shows no signs of abandonment (not yet anyway), UPC is being pushed by the British Minister for Intellectual Property, Sam Gyimah, raising all sorts of legitimate and awkward questions

IT didn't take long for real journalists rather than stenographers of law firms and the EPO to write about this latest absurdity.



Well, published by Kieren McCarthy in The Register on Friday night (around 8PM when many people are already offline) was this article titled "That Brexit in action: UK signs pact to let Euro court judge its patents" and it's similar to what we have said in our two articles about it [1, 2] (so far, there's likely much more on the way).

To quote a couple of portions:

Britain has finally signed up to Europe's unified patent court (UPC) – a long-planned simplification of the continent's patent system – but big questions still remain thanks to Brexit and a federal court challenge in Germany.

"The Minister for Intellectual Property, Sam Gyimah MP, has today confirmed that the UK has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA)," the UK government said in a formal announcement.

Soon after, the ratification appeared on the European Union's treaty webpage, confirming that it is a done deal.

But despite the UK government noting that "our ratification brings the international court one step closer to reality," the truth is that thanks to the UK's planned exit from the European Union, things are much messier than they appear.

While the UK is signing the treaty as a member of the European Union, by the time the UPC is up and running, it will almost certainly not be a member of said union, if Brexit is allowed to run its course. In other words, the UK has backed a court system that, come next year, may or may not have any jurisdiction over the country.

On one level, the UK – in pursuing its efforts to break free from European laws – has just agreed to abide by European laws: the patent court's decision will have the European Court of Justice as its ultimate decider.

[...]

Thankfully for the EPO, Battistelli will be leaving later this year but his determined drive to get more patents approved each year has led to a complete breakdown in communication between EPO staff and examiners and its management, a drop in patent quality, and earned him numerous rebukes from international organizations and European politicians.

Even if the UPC does gets passed, it is still going to take years and significant effort to repair the damage done by Battistelli.


As usual, comments on such articles are dominated by the anti-EU crowd rather than patent professionals, one of whom wrote: "The contradiction #Brexit <-> UPC cannot be kept under the radar forever. #UPC means: A Danish / ... chamber, with a majority of Danish / ... judges, on the basis of proceedings in Danish / ..., under the surveillance of the #ECJ, can stop production in the UK."

Yes, exactly. This also makes UPC as a whole unconstitutional. How can one be subjected to rulings in languages one does not even comprehend? This among other things is grounds for the Constitutional complaint in Germany (FCC).

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
 
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric