Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his policy on the EU Withdrawal Agreement is that it obliges the establishment of a central patent court seat in London under the Unified Patent Court Agreement.

The Government will not be participating in the Unified Patent Court (UPC), nor establishing a seat in London, due to the UPC’s links with the EU Court of Justice. Consequently, on 20 July 2020, the UK withdrew its ratification of the UPC Agreement. Withdrawing ratification clarifies the UK’s status in the Agreement and will help facilitate its orderly entry into force for other States, if they so choose. The locations of the central division of the UPC is a matter for the remaining participating states to decide.