The Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened its doors on 1st June 2023. The opening of the UPC brings a new era of patent law, with Unitary Patents (UPs) being granted and with the Court ready to hear its first cases. We look forward to offering clients the chance both to enforce their patents or defend their innovative products across Europe using the UPC, and to protect their inventions with UPs.
The UPC has exclusive jurisdiction over UPs, providing a single forum for pan-European infringement and revocation actions. The UPC’s jurisdiction also extends to all classic European Patents (EPs) already granted by the EPO, unless an opt out is filed. An opt out keeps the EP in the old judicial system, in which litigation must occur state-by-state in the national courts.
The UPC may be an attractive forum for parties who missed the EPO opposition period, or patentees who want a single decision on enforcement across the UPC’s participating Member States.
Our mixed teams of Carpmaels patent attorneys and litigators will be able to act for clients in the EPO, UPC, and national courts (including the UK), giving our clients a real edge in pan-European actions. We are unique in our ability to offer a truly integrated service, managing our clients’ intellectual property from inception to litigation, making us perfectly positioned to best represent our clients in the UPC.
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The firm has more than 70 qualified UPC representatives, ready to help you through every aspect of litigation at the new Court: from opting out, to defending your patent’s validity and from protective letters to requesting preliminary injunctions. Meet our highly specialised team of European patent attorneys and litigators who can advise you on how best to use this new Court.
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Our team is ideally placed to assist you with the new changes.
The combined skills of our litigators and patent attorneys means that we can offer advice relating to all aspects of the new system. For those that do wish to use the UPC, the expertise of our European patent litigators, with rights of representation before this new court, will be indispensable for litigants who desire to have the best technical and legal advisors in the courtroom.
If you wish to discuss aspects of the Unitary Patent or Unified Patent Court with us, please get in touch with your usual Carpmaels contact, or contact Agathe Michel-de Cazotte or David Holland.