UPCA ratifications slowly gain momentum

France's document of ratification of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement was deposited on 14 March 2014. France is one of the three signatories to the UPC Agreement whose ratification is essential before the Agreement can come into effect (the others being Germany, which says it will ratify the agreement and will commence the procedure to approve ratification later this year, and the United Kingdom, which expects to ratify before the end of the current parliament in 2015.  The chart on the European Commission's Unitary Patent ratification web page features both the French ratification and that of Austria before it, but there is no sign of Malta having done likewise, despite rumours posted on this weblog earlier this year.

Meanwhile, this blogger learned from the King & Wood Mallesons LLP/S J Berwin website, here, that the Belgian Senate approved the UPC Agreement on 13 March 2014 and that it awaits approval by the House of Representatives. The Kluwer Patent Blog adds that on 2 April the House of Representatives' parliamentary committee for Foreign Affairs voted in favour of the ratification of the UPC Agreement. Apparently the vote in plenary session is planned for the week of 22 April 2014, but should be "no more than a formality".

First Austria and now, it seems, Malta. Who's next?

Thanks to Ingve Stjerna I've had a chance to take note of this short piece on Keltie LLP's IPCopy weblog, "Has Malta ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement?" by Emily Weal. According to Emily's dexterous use of Google Translate,

"Malta has now passed the ratification process , to be carried out in accordance with article 3 of the Act on Ratification Treaties (Cap 304) Authorizing the Maltese Parliament to ratify the Agreement (Patent Court Industrial unified) Unified Patent Court (UPC) which was signed on 19 February 2013".

Has anyone heard more about this event, or as to whether any other country (apart from Austria, which has already ratified) is also in the middle of committing itself?