Unified Patent Court
It’s been a long time coming but it looks as if the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and Unitary Patents (UP) will soon come into effect. Get up to speed with everything you need to know to be prepared for UPC and UP.
Insight
Title
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) – Keeping it Simple and Practical
We all know that the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is big news in the patent world. Beyond the legal updates, businesses need to know how the UPC affects them practically. How can the UPC add value, and how to manage the risks? The UPC will need a collaborative approach between litigators and prosecutors. Listen to Matthew Blaseby, European/UK patent prosecutor, and Christof Höhne, German patent litigator, work through a simple, fictional, scenario to demonstrate some of the practical considerations for the UPC.
Date
29 June 2022
Duration
25:11
What is the Unitary Patent, and how do I get one?
The Unitary Patent will be a single patent right, obtained via the European Patent Office, covering all EU Member States which have ratified the agreement at the patent grant date. (As of June 2022, the participating countries are Belgium, Bulgaria, De...
What is the Unified Patent Court?
The Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) is a new pan-European court expected to open for business some time after October 2022. It will adjudicate disputes relating to the new Unitary Patents and also to existing and future European patents (unless they have ...
What is the likely timing of the UPC and UP coming into being?
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is currently completing preparations to be open for business (under the Protocol on the Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement (the ‘PAP-Protocol’)). The Preparatory Committee initially indicated that the preparatio...
How does the opt-out work in the transitional period of the UPC Agreement?
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) will ultimately be responsible for all litigation in participating member states relating to patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO); national courts in those countries will only retain jurisdiction over natio...
What are the options if you want to be able to use the UPC?
All unitary patents will fall within the competence of the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Additionally, classical validations of European Patents in states which have ratified the UPC agreement will fall within the competence of the UPC (unless opted-out)...
What are the options if you want to avoid the UPC?
During the transitional period, it is possible to opt classical (i.e. non-unitary) European patents and applications out of the competence of the UPC (provided that no action has commenced at the UPC in respect of that patent). The opt-out lasts for th...
What languages does the UPC use?
Central Division Proceedings at the central division will be in the language in which the patent was granted. Local/Regional Divisions Proceedings at the local/regional divisions will be in either: An official language of the Member State in which th...
Member States participating in UPC
Member States of the EU that have already ratified the UPC Agreement (or in the case of Germany has indicated it will do so) and so will take part in the UPC as soon as it commences are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, La...
The Unitary Patent System is on the way
We reported last year that the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC) were progressing. The main hurdle left to clear was sufficient countries ratifying the Protocol on the Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement to allow the provisional ap...
Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court - finally happening?
The project to establish a Unitary Patent in Europe and a Unified Patent Court to handle patent infringement litigation for European patents is underway again. After several years’ further delay due to constitutional challenges in Germany, progre...
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