Update on the Unified Patent Court
Since its start on 1 June 2023, approaching 600,000 applications to opt-patents out of the jurisdiction of the Unitary Patent Court have been filed. This should not be taken as an indication that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is not being embraced, however.
The EPO reports that it has received 13,620 requests for a Unitary Patent. Furthermore, at time of reporting, over 90 different proceedings have been launched at the Unified Patents Court including infringement actions, revocation actions, applications for provisional measures, and counterclaims for revocation. Also, three appeals have been filed, including one application for suspensive effect.
The UPC was set up to decide on infringement and validity of European patents, both Unified European Patents and the classic European patents that have not been opted out of the jurisdiction of the Unified Patents Court, as well as Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) relating to such patents.
Seventeen EU Member States have signed the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA). The UPCA can still be ratified at any time by any of the other seven EU Member States that have signed it. Also, any of the remaining EU Member States could still accede to the UPCA at any point. The UPC aims to offer a uniform, specialised and efficient framework for patent litigation at a European level. The court is composed of judges from all over Europe, and the panels comprise both legally and technically qualified judges with patent litigation expertise.
The UPC consist of several divisions, namely, a Court of First Instance, an Appeal Court, a Registry, and a Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre.
The Court of First Instance hears a variety of actions, including actions for: actual or threatened infringement; declarations of non-infringement; provisional and protective measures and injunctions; and revocation and declarations of invalidity, including as counterclaims. The Court of First Instance has a central division in Paris, a section in Munich and several regional divisions throughout Europe.
The Court of Appeal decides on appeals against decisions of the Court of First Instance. In addition, this court also decides on requests for rehearing final decisions of the UPC. The Court of Appeal is based in Luxembourg.
The Registry is located at the Court of Appeal but has sub-registries at every division of the Court of First Instance. The Registry carries out the administrative and procedural tasks of the UPC, including, for example: organising court proceedings; keeping a register of all cases before the court; keeping a list of judges and representatives; publishing decisions; maintaining the court’s IT system; and providing administrative support to the Administrative, Budget and Advisory Committees.
Many of the functions of the Registry are carried out electronically through the Court’s Case Management System. For examples, Applications to opt a European Patent out of the jurisdiction of the UPC are filed on-line through the Registry.
The Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre is in Lisbon and Ljubljana. The Centre is set up to offer support in settlement of disputes relation to both Unified European Patents and the classic European patents that have not been opted out of the jurisdiction of the Unified Patents Court. In the words of the UPC, it aims “to foster amicable settlements.”
Should you need advice on the UPC, please contact us.