Update on Germany UPC case

The Constitutional Court has invited a number of organizations to submit their views on the complaint, namely BRAK (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer, Federal Bar Association), DAV (DeutscherAnwaltVerein, German Bar Association), GRUR (Deutsche Vereinigung für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht, German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property), EPLAW (European Patent Lawyers Association), EPLIT (European Patent Litigators Association) and the European Patent Office (EPO). The German governments at federal and state levels were also invited. The original deadline for submitting views was 31 October, but this was extended to 31 December. Of course, the German Bundestag (the parliament) was also asked to submit views, which was particularly important, since one of the complaints relates to the way the UPC Agreement was voted in the Bundestag. Mr. Stjerna now reveals that the Bundestag had asked for a further extension until 31 January 2018, which was granted by the Court. This means that the German Constitutional Court could only start working on a decision on the admissibility of the complaint after that date. If Mr. Stjerna's complaint is declared inadmissible – which is supported in the views that have been submitted -, this case could come to a conclusion in the next months, which would mean that the UPC could still open for business early 2019.