The countdown to the launch of the EU Unitary Patent has begun, with the new system expected to start before the end of this year. The final legal step took place on January 19, when Austria deposited its instrument of accession to the Protocol on Provisional Application of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement. It is the 13th country to take this step, meaning that the provisional application period has now entered into force. In practice, this means that UPC judges and other staff can now be recruited, IT systems set up and budget confirmed. The provisional period is expected to last at least eight months, i.e. until late September 2022, although it could be as long as 12 months.

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