A New Era of Patent Practice and Litigation in Europe—The EU Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court 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 attorneys Philip L. Cupitt, Ph.D., Mandy J. Song, Ph.D., Ningling Wang, and Leythem A. Wall 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.

Please join us for this important discussion.

Date:
Wednesday, 29 June 2016

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:
RSVP by 22 June 2016 to email.

Venue:
Shanghai Room, 2nd Floor
Shangri-La Pudong
No. 33 Fu Cheng Road, Shanghai

For more information, please contact us at

021-61942067 or email.