On 22 November 2017, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved the bill on ratification and enforcement of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).  The bill had been issued and approved by the Senate (the Italian parliament’s other chamber) in May 2017, and must now be promulgated by the President and published in the Official Journal.  A local division of the UPC will be in Milan (in an existing court building at via San Barnaba 50, which has potential for expansion), and Milan is also a potential location for the central division’s business currently allocated to London, if the UK cannot participate in the UPC following Brexit (see here). The Protocol on Privileges and Immunities (PPI) of the UPC will provide the Court with the privileges and immunities necessary for its function, and grants certain privileges and immunities to the Judges, Registrar and all other employees of the Court.  Italy was one of the original signatories of the PPI on 29 June 2016, and in February 2017 deposited its instrument of ratification of the UPC Agreement and also signed the Agreement’s Protocol on Provisional Application.  Therefore, ratification of the PPI will be the final legislative step for Italy’s participation in the UPC.