Adjustment of the timeline: Start of the Sunrise Period on 1 March 2023 – Starting date of transitional measures of EPO remains 1 January 2023

Figure from EPO News message"Unitary Patent: Forms for requesting transitional measures now available" dd 19 December 2022
https://www.epo.org/news-events/news/2022/20221219a.html

The UPC website indicates that the start of the Sunrise Period is postponed for two months. The initial roadmap foresaw 1 January 2023 as the beginning of the Sunrise Period with an entry into force of the UPCA on 1 April 2023. The additional time is intended to allow future users to prepare themselves for the strong authentication which will be required to access the Case Management System (CMS) and to sign documents. As a consequence, the entry into force of the UPCA is now planned to be on 1 June 2023.

In a further message, the starting date of transitional measures of EPO was indicated to remain 1 January 2023. 

Also, Official forms relating to the early uptake of the Unitary Patent are now available on the EPO website.

The first message (original here) is cited below in full (no changes made):


The start of the Sunrise Period is postponed for two months. The initial roadmap foresaw 1 January 2023 as the beginning of the Sunrise Period with an entry into force of the UPCA on 1 April 2023. The additional time is intended to allow future users to prepare themselves for the strong authentication which will be required to access the Case Management System (CMS) and to sign documents. Users will need to equip themselves with both, a client authentication (hard device) and a qualified electronic signature. Further detailed information on the authentication is published on this website. Included is a list of providers who have informed the Court that they meet the required technical standards. This is an open ended list which will be amended as additional providers communicate their readiness to the UPC. As strong authentication is required already for the Sunrise Period the initial timeline seems insufficient in view of the legitimate interests of users who have to find a provider and acquire the required authentication tools. As a consequence, the Sunrise Period will start on 1 March 2023 followed by the entry into force of the UPCA on 1 June 2023.


As all other preparatory work is on track and in line with the published roadmap we expect no further delay of the start of the UPC beyond 1 June 2023. Secondary legislation, like e.g. the UPC Rules of Procedure, has been adopted. The Judges of the UPC have been appointed, the Presidium has been formed and the Presidents of both the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance have been elected and have assumed their offices. The Presidium of the UPC has concluded the interviews of candidates for the position of Registrar and Deputy Registrar completing the Court’s administration as of the beginning of next year, in time for the start of the Sunrise period on 1 March 2023. The functionalities of the CMS have been positively tested. The training of the UPC judges and the clerks is under way. No amendments to the roadmap are required in these areas.

 

Klaus Grabinski                                              Johannes Karcher

President of the UPC                                     Acting Chairman of the Administrative Committee
Court of Appeal                                              of the UPC


Authored: 05 December 2022


The starting date of transitional measures of EPO was indicated to remain 1 January 2023. For the original message see here, as well as here for a corresponding message on the EPO website. The message on the UPC website is cited in full below:


On 5 December 2022, the Unified Patent Court announced the postponement of the Sunrise Period to 1 March 2023 and the entry into force of the UPCA to 1 June 2023 (read more here). This means that the Unitary Patent package will become operational on the latter date.


Despite this delay, all other major milestones of the official UPC Roadmap remain unchanged, including the starting date of the transitional measures offered by the EPO.


At the EPO, applicants can file early requests for unitary effect and for a delay in issuing the decision to grant a European patent as from 1 January 2023.

 

For detailed information as to the requirements for these two measures, including some examples, please go to the dedicated webpageof the EPO.

Forms for requesting transitional measures are available now here


Authored: 20 December 2022


Lastly, official forms relating to the early uptake of the Unitary Patent are now available on the EPO website, as indicated in the EPO news message "Unitary Patent: Forms for requesting transitional measures now available" dd 19 December 2023 (here). The news message indicates (cited without changes):

Unitary Patent: Forms for requesting transitional measures now available

19 December 2023

From 1 January 2023 the period for early uptake of the Unitary Patent begins. The Unitary Patent system is expected to enter into force on 1 June 2023, when the Unified Patent Court (UPC) should also come into operation, heralding a new era for patent protection in Europe.

The sunrise period for the UPC should begin on 1 March 2023.

Unitary Patent timeline

Official forms relating to the early uptake of the Unitary Patent are now available on the EPO website. These relate to requests for unitary effect, as well as to requests for delay in issuing the decision to grant a European patent, so as to benefit from unitary effect in due course. These forms can be validly submitted only from 1 January 2023, and not before. The EPO's Online Filing 2.0 tool will be updated to receive the new requests from that date.

We are making our forms and associated guidance for online filing available now in light of the office closure over the Christmas and New Year period (24 December to 1 January). Our online filing tools remain operational throughout the closure. The EPO re-opens for ordinary business from 2 January 2023, including processing of the requests filed.

Further information:



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