ieExplains: What do you mean there's another referendum coming?
Referendum 7 Patent June Take The File European Unified Court Picture: Elections Gibson On On Andy And Place Alongside Will Local
Though Ireland has just voted in a pair of referenda, another is due to take place in just under three months.
The Government announced the referendum on Unified Patent Court in January and it will take place alongside European and local elections in June.
Here's what you need to know.
In 2013, 25 EU member states — including Ireland — signed the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court Agreement, providing for the establishment of a new Unified Patent Court between states.
The idea is that this international court acts as something of a one-stop-shop for litigation on patents, with its decisions binding in participating EU states.
As of January of this year, 17 EU states have ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement.
In very basic terms, a patent gives its holder the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, and importing its patented invention.
Patents do run out after a set period of time and in Ireland, there are two types of patents: 10-year and 20-year. For these to be maintained, there are annual patent renewal fees to be maintained.
When a patent is disputed for whatever reason, and becomes the subject of litigation, the High Court deals with the case if the damages sought are above €75,000. If the damages sought are below that amount, the Circuit Court hears the case.
What is key here is that, historically, patents have been territorial: they would only apply in the country where the patent was issued. If you have a patent granted for a product in Ireland, it is only valid in Ireland. If you wanted your invention to be patented in Ireland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, you would need a different patent for each country. And that can be costly.
The Unified Patent Court acts as a one-stop shop for litigation on patents, with its decisions binding in every state signed up.
Though Ireland has approved entry to the Unified Patent Court, a constitutional referendum is required to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement because it involves the transfer of Irish patent litigation to another jurisdiction.
If the vote passes, this is what would be inserted: The State may ratify the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court done at Brussels on the 19th day of February 2013. No provision of this Constitution invalidates laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the State that are necessitated by the obligations of the State under that Agreement or prevents laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by bodies competent under that Agreement from having the force of law in the State.
June 7, 2024. This is the same day as the local and European elections.