As the final step in the Finnish legislative procedure, the President of Finland, Mr. Sauli Niinistö, signed the new legislation in a presidential session held on 31 January 2013, confirming that the proposed changes shall enter into force as of 1 September 2013. This milestone change in the Finnish intellectual property landscape means that intellectual property matters, which now are being processed by various bodies, will be centralized and dealt with by the Market Court as of September 2013.
The Board of Appeal of the National Board of Patents and Registration will be disbanded approximately six months after the entering into force of the reforms and a subsequent separate act will accordingly repeal the Act on the Appeal Proceedings before the Board of Patents and Registration.
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