The Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened its doors on 1st June 2023.
The UPC provides a dedicated judicial system for litigating UPs, as well as European patents that have not been opted out of the UPC’s jurisdiction. The court has attracted users with its streamlined procedures, predominant use of English and high-quality decisions, often rendered within 15 months.
The potential for injunctive relief across the UPC territory, without having to litigate country-by-country, has meant that the court is increasingly becoming a key venue for European patent litigation, and an important pillar of patent owners’ global patent litigation strategies. Romania joined the UPC on 1 September 2024, taking the total number of UPC member states to 18.
Carpmaels has been representing its clients before the UPC from day one, and is one of the few firms that can use an integrated team to handle parallel disputes in the EPO and the UPC. We have handled some of the most high-profile, technically complex and valuable cases at the UPC, including successfully leading the first ever revocation action at the Central Division, and the first ever UPC case involving an SPC.
More than 50 Carpmaels attorneys are deeply involved in active UPC litigation and many more in UPC related advice: we have more than 80 qualified UPC representatives and over 30 litigators with experience of national and UPC litigation.
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Need advice?
Our team is ideally placed to assist you.
The combined skills of our litigators and patent attorneys means that we can offer advice relating to all aspects of the UPC system. If you have any questions about the UP or UPC, please get in touch with your usual Carpmaels contact, or contact Agathe Michel-de Cazotte or David Holland.
Our UPC experts
Need advice?
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.