On April 14, 2024, Romania's Law 81/2024 came into effect, officially ratifying the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA).

According to Article 89(2) of the UPCA, this ratification will take effect on the first day of the fourth month following the deposit of the instrument of ratification with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. If Romania promptly deposits this instrument, it could become a contracting member state as early as September 1, 2024.

This accession will make Romania the 18th contracting member state where European patents with unitary effect will be available and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the UPC for disputes related to infringement and invalidity.

During the transitional period, classical European patents designating Romania that are not opted out of the UPC's jurisdiction will be subject to both UPC and national jurisdiction. With Romania as a contracting state to the UPCA, it will leave six of the 24 UPCA signatory states that still needing to complete the ratification process.