Denmark votes in favor of unitary patent

In the Danish referendum last Sunday, Denmark has voted clearly in favor of the unitary patent.  The final results show that 60.45 percent voted for the unitary patent and the unified patent court, and 36.19 percent voted against. 

The full story is in the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende. Look for the words 'Enhedspatent' (unitary patent), 'patentdomstolen' (patent court) and 'ja' (yes).



Although it had previously been forecast that Denmark would vote in favor, supporters of the unitary patent court were nevertheless worried that the referendum could have resulted in a popularity contest for the current government. Apparently, they are not so popular. It seems votes against the new court came mainly from the Euro skeptic camp.


I wonder if this means that Denmark will try to join the Nordic regional court after all. Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have announced that they will from a regional division of the Unified Patent Court. Denmark now has the option to go alone, by establishing a local division or to join the Nordic court. As Denmark had been mentioned in this list before this referendum came up, I would guess that this option is now back on the table.

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