The Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened for business on 1 June 2023. It revolutionizes the way in which patents are litigated in Europe and Finnegan is among the first firms to have filed an action in the UPC.
The Court provides a new forum for enforcing European patents granted by the European Patent Office and in force in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden in a single court action. Having filed a case at the UPC within the first month of the Court’s opening, our attorneys caution that proceedings move quickly and preliminary injunctions covering multiple UPC member states are available.
The Court is also an attractive forum for revocation of European patents and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs). Revocation proceedings allow parties to clear the way for product launches through revoking rights across multiple jurisdictions in a single court action.
Concurrent with the opening of the UPC the European Patent Office began granting European Patents with Unitary Effect (Unitary Patents). Unitary Patents provide patent protection in all participating member states. This is intended to reduce the burden on applicants who wish to obtain protection across multiple European member states. Formalities and maintenance fees due on Unitary Patents are significantly lower than the equivalent costs for maintaining protection via individual national patents. Unitary Patents can also be asserted and attacked before the UPC.
Finnegan’s European patent litigators and European patent attorneys advise on all aspects of UPC strategy and have full representation rights before the UPC, including handling infringement and revocation actions. They are also able to opt-out (and back in) European patents and applications from the Court’s jurisdiction during the transitional period.
For more information, visit our Unified Patent Court (UPC) Hub.
Unified Patent Court After One Year: Key Takeaways, Lessons Learned, and What the Future Holds
June 26, 2024
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UPC’s Inaugural Year: Pivotal Rulings, Lessons Learned, Emerging Trends, and Future Outlook
June 20, 2024
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