Germany has ratified the UPC Agreement on February 17, 2023, see https://www.unified-patent-court.org/en/news/upc-agreement-ratification-breaking-news.
What does « opt-out » mean?
Opt-out is a request to withdraw a European patent or a published application from the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
The deposit of the Unified Patent Court Agreement ratification instrument by Germany will trigger the Sunrise period and the entry into force of the UPCA (3 months after the start of the Sunrise period).
In anticipation of the opening of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) that is currently planned for April 1st 2023, it will be possible to opt out existing patents and patent application from the jurisdiction of the UPC.
The so-called ‘Bolar exemption’ finds legal basis in EU Directive 2004/27/EC modifying Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use. Article 10(6) of EU Directive 2001/83/EC states that:
Unitary Patent a unique protection for 17 states in Europe
With the recent ratification of Austria, the European Patent with unitary effect (“Unitary Patent”) will be introduced soon.