A New Era of Patent Practice and Litigation in Europe—The EU Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court and Brexit

Expected to come into force in 2017, the Unitary Patent System and Unified Patent Court (‘UPC’) will bring significant changes in European patent practice. Patent owners will have the option to apply for a European Patent with Unitary Effect ('Unitary Patent') to avoid the costs of validating the patent in individual countries. A new centralized court system, the UPC, will be created to act as a single forum for disputes relating to Unitary Patents as well as ‘classical’ European patents granted under the current system, thus reducing the cost and complexity of patent litigation in Europe. While these appear to be welcome changes for those with patent portfolios and wishing to enforce their rights in Europe, they are not without concerns.

In this seminar, Finnegan Europe attorneys Philip L. Cupitt, Ph.D. and Leythem A. Wall, together with Gary C. Ma of Finnegan’s Taipei office, shall provide a detailed outline of these major changes as well as strategic considerations and what preparations need to be made now.

In light of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, the speakers will also address how Brexit will affect patents in the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as the EU Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court. The revised agenda is provided below.

Agenda:
13:00 - 13:30 Registration
13:30 - 13:35 Welcome
13:35 - 13:55 Brexit 
13:55 - 15:10 Fundamentals and Costs of the Unitary Patent and the UPC; Infringement Actions and Revocation Actions in Detail; Interaction with EPO Oppositions and; Forum Shopping
15:10 - 15:40 Coffee Break
15:40 - 16:55 Ownership and Licensee Considerations; Freedom to Operate in Europe under the New System and Opting out of the New System
16:55 - 17:15 Q&A

RSVP:
Please RSVP by Friday, June 24, 2016. 

For more information, please contact Ms. Nori Chen at (02)2712-7001 Ext. 113

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