Shortly before the turn of the year, we speculated whether there would be a European unitary patent in 2021. Now it's clear that it won't happen in April, and whether it will be summer or fall is still written in the stars or between the covers of the German Federal Constitutional Court.
In the meantime, it has become known why Germany has still not ratified the agreement necessary for the European unitary patent, even one month after the approval of the parliamentary chambers: There are two new constitutional complaints.
And that puts the "unitary patent" project almost exactly back where it was in 2017: before the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany.
As yet, little is known about the content and the parties involved in the constitutional complaints 2BvR 2216/20 and 2BvR 2217/20. Much of the information on the Internet is based on direct inquiries to the Federal Constitutional Court and the Office of the Federal President.
To our knowledge, only a preliminary version of a resolution recommendation and a report of the responsible committee of the German Bundestag dated January 13, 2021, has been officially published (link). This report at least tells us the following:
(a) One of the complainants is the same as in the earlier proceedings (2 BvR 739/17: Link). The judgment is anonymized. However, based on information on his website, we can assume that the complainant is Dr. Ingve Stjerna (https://www.stjerna.de/vb/). Ms. Christina Schulze writes on Juve-Patent (Link) that he confirmed to her that he is the complainant.
b) The German Bundestag has already given its opinion on 08 January 2021. In all likelihood, as supported in committee by all parties except the AfD, the Bundestag will also join this process.
Where do we go from here?
In addition to the main motions, both complaints also include motions for the issuance of a temporary injunction. The court must decide on these quickly and probably even in the next few days.
So far, however, nothing is known about the decision. So it remains exciting whether this is just a short stopover or the final station of the "unitary patent" project.