German Constitutional Court decides on the EU Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

The German Constitutional Court has rendered its judgement in case of ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (Agreement) by Germany. The complainants in this case claimed that their right to democratic self-determination, the principle of the rule of law under the German Basic Law, and the fundamental right to effective legal protection are violated by the provision of the Agreement (Article 6 and ff).

The German Constitutional Court has dismissed these complaints as inadmissible since they failed to sufficiently substantiate any possible violation of their fundamental rights. As a result, the German Federal President is now free to sign the necessary documents which would allow the Agreement to enter into force.

The Agreement on a Unified Patent Court is an international treaty of select EU member states establishing the Unified Patent Court with exclusive jurisdiction over certain European patent infringement disputes, disputes on the validity of patents, and specific actions concerning decisions of the European Patent Office.