21/02/2017 (Agence Europe) – During the Competitiveness Council on Monday 20 February, EU member states renewed their commitment to moving faster to finalise the entry into force of the Unified Patent and Unified Patent Court. The provisional protocol of application attached to the agreement setting up the Unified Patent Court could enter into force this May. The provisional application of the agreement is necessary in order to have all the legal and organisational structures in place for the entry into force of the new Unitary Patent protection system. The United Kingdom, Germany and Hungary have confirmed their commitment to ratify the protocol as soon as possible. According to one diplomatic source, British commitment in this sense was greeted with much relief, given the uncertainties provoked by ‘Brexit’ (see EUROPE 11632). This same source explained that once the protocol is ratified, they would need six months for the first unitary patent to be granted. If the protocol comes into force in May, the first Unitary Patent could possibly be registered before the end of 2017. (PH)