Belgians challenge national ratification of UPCA

PatLit has learned from an informed source that in Belgium the ratification statute for the Unified Patent Court Agreement seems to have been challenged in that country's Constitutional Court. This information can be found on the weblog of ESOMA, the European Software Manufacturers' Association, here

There would appear to be three bases for this challenge:

• language discrimination against Dutch-speaking Belgian citizens, which is forbidden by the Belgian constitution, 

• the Rules of Procedure for the UPC and possible future amendments can pass into law without being confirmed by the Belgian legislator 

• the European Patent Office lacks judicial responsibility, in contradiction of the Rule of Law.

At least this third plea has a familiar ring to it ...