The Latest from The UPC
EIP Amar webinar - Prepare for the UP and UPC
This week a panel from EIP Amar hosted an informative webinar where they discussed everything your business needs to know about the effect of the incoming Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court. You can listen to the webinar here.
What is the Unified Patent Court?
The Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) is a new pan-European court which will open for business on 1 June 2023. It will adjudicate disputes relating to the new Unitary Patents and also to existing and future European patents (unless they have bee...
What is the Unitary Patent and how do I get one?
The Unitary Patent (UP) 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, and it will be subject to the UPC (opt-out is not possible). Even...
When will the UPC and UP start?
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is currently completing preparations to be open for business on 1 June 2023. The timetable for introduction of the Unitary Patent and for the UPC to begin operations is as follows: January 2023: EPO introduces transiti...
Geographic Scope of the UPC and Unitary Patent
The UPC and Unitary Patent will have specific geographic scope which may vary over time as more states participate.
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...
Opt-out decision
Owners of European patent rights (both pending and granted patents) need to decide, in respect of each right individually, whether to opt out of the Unified Patent Court ("UPC") system. If a patent is not opted out of the UPC system, that patent can i...
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...
Unitary Patent as an object of property
A registered intellectual property right such as a patent is normally considered a property right of the country in which it has effect. Rules relating to the patent as an object of property, for example what is required to legally assign the right, ar...
How does the opt-out work?
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...
For UPC updates from the last decade read Amar Goussu Staub’s UPC blog