Association of Patent and Trademark Attorneys (APTMA)

Lobbying Organisation Association of Patent and Trademark Attorneys

Date published 18 Sep, 2026

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area EU Affairs

Period 1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026

Specific Details Constitutional Referendum on Ireland's participation in the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

Intended results To ensure the Government is aware of recent Unified Patent Court (UPC) case law on the UPC’s long-arm jurisdiction and the granting of Preliminary Injunctions, which may affect Irish businesses; to highlight the potential impact of these rulings on Irish companies; and to explain why the Government is being urged to prioritise setting a date for a referendum on Ireland joining the UPC system.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Sumi Nadarajah, President of APTMA and Marie Walsh, Chair of the UPC Committee of APTMA

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (1)

Letter to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) dated10.06.2026 requesting a meeting and reminding of the impact of case law of the UPC on long-arm jurisdiction and impact for Irish businesses

Meeting (1)

Meeting with the Intellectual Property Unit of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) on 24.07.2026 under the auspices of Peter Burke who was not in attendance.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Peter Burke Minister (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment)