The legislation enabling Italy’s ratification and implementation of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) came into force on 25 November 2016, having been published the previous day in Italy’s Official Gazette here.  The Law (3 November 2016, n. 214) authorises the President to ratify the UPC Agreement. (The ratification will take effect once the instrument of ratification has been deposited with the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU.)  The Law also provides for Italy’s implementation of the UPC Agreement in three ways.  First, it amends national legislation in order to exclude UPC disputes from the competence of its IP specialised courts; as reported here, Italy’s local division of the UPC will be in the Milan Courthouse and is expected to be ready by mid-June 2017.  Second, it amends Article 66 of the Industrial Property Code to introduce provisions on indirect patent infringement; although indirect infringement is currently acknowledged by the Italian courts through case law, it is not governed by express statutory provisions. Third, it deals with the financial implications of Italy’s participation in the new UPC system, authorising the Minister of Economy and Finance to make the required budgetary changes.