June 2024 Referendum on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) agreement confirmed

The Irish government has confirmed the holding of a referendum in June 2024 on ratification of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) agreement. The referendum is to be held on the same day as the European and local elections. The APTMA strongly welcomes this development.

Ireland has been outside the Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Court (UPC) system since its entry into force in June 2023. Successful ratification of the UPC agreement would enable Irish innovators to have the same opportunities for strategic competitive advantage relative to businesses in other European countries including benefitting from the cost savings available under the new system.  At present, businesses which have obtained a single European unitary patent covering 17 EU member states and wish to obtain patent protection in Ireland must also validate their European patent separately in Ireland.

Ratification of the UPC agreement in Ireland would also allow both Irish and multinational companies to avail of a local division of the UPC court in Ireland and all the advantages associated therewith.