The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has announced that Ireland will establish a local division of the Unified Patent Court. This of course is subject to Ireland ratifying the International Agreement (signed February 2013) on a Unified Patent Court by way of referendum. Under the terms of the International Agreement, Ireland has the choice of setting up a local division or participating in a regional division with one or more Member States.
When operational, the Unified Patent Court will allow actions to be filed under patent legislation in a single court to decide on the validity of a patent throughout up to 25 EU Member States thereby removing the need for country specific litigation and massively reducing legal costs. While the Unified Patent Court is not expected to be in operation until 2016, the announcement brings a positive boost for businesses that will be able to resolve disputes concerning patents within this jurisdiction in a more cost effective manner.