Minister of State Neale Richmond has warned that the twin referendum defeats puts the Government “under pressure” ahead of another referendum in June on joining the EU’s Unified Patent Court.
“I think it certainly puts us under a bit of pressure,” the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment told RTÉ News in Brussels.
“We need to have a very open discussion with everyone in society about the benefits of Ireland signing up to the Unified Patent Court, how this is going to help business people, entrepreneurs, researchers, but crucially, the people who will benefit from these patented products, be they cancer drug treatments or anything else,” he said.
“We certainly can’t take anything for granted. This is a really, really important referendum for so many people in Ireland, across Europe, and we will need to enter into a really good agreement with civic society and business groups to get this across the line.”
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) was signed by member states in 2013 and came into force in 2023.
The court will eventually be made up of judges from all 27 member states, who will rule on infringement and validity proceedings covering so-called Unitary Patents, which are recognised across the EU, and classic European patents.
The UPC is currently in force in 17 member states.
If the referendum is passed, Ireland would be the 18th member state in which the court is in force.
The Government announced last year it would hold a referendum on joining the UPC as a full member, and the vote will take place on 7 June, the same day as the European Parliament and local elections.
“If and when we pass this referendum it will mean that an Irish patent can be protected in 18 different jurisdictions,” said Mr Richmond.
“This provides a cost saving of over €30,000 for a company. It also allows Ireland to continue to be a real epicentre for research and development in so many different industries.”
