Introducing the Unified Patent Court: A New Era for Intellectual Property Protection
June 1, 2023 marks a momentous occasion in the European patent landscape as the Unified Patent Court (UPC) opens its doors, offering a platform for individuals to file central claims against potential patent infringers or seek the revocation of European patents.
Starting from 0900 CEST, the UPC’s Case Management System will be up and running and ready to accept electronic filings for such claims. At 0930 CEST, an open court session will commence in Paris, where all legally and technically qualified judges of the Court of First Instance are invited to take their oath, an essential prerequisite for assuming their duties.
Additionally, the Presidium of the UPC has made a significant decision regarding the assignment of pending actions within the central division. Effective June 1, actions related to patents in IPC section A will be assigned to the Paris seat, while those pertaining to patents in IPC section C will be assigned to the Munich seat. It is worth noting that these two IPC sections were initially intended for the court in London, prior to Brexit. The assignment remains provisional until the Administrative Committee finalizes the establishment of another seat within the central division. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that this will be in Milan, with agreement reached among the governments of Italy, France, and Germany. The formal approval of this agreement will take place during the next meeting of the Administrative Committee, although the launch of the central court in Milan is expected to occur during the coming years.
With these developments, the sunrise period officially concludes. This period allowed for the early filing of opt-out requests ensuring that granted European patents would not fall under the jurisdiction of the UPC. While opt-out requests can still be submitted after June 1, they will not be valid if proceedings before the UPC have already commenced.
The sunrise period ended with over 470,000 patents and applications opted-out, which still leaves plenty of cases in the jurisdiction of the new Court. Among the notable corporations, Google, Microsoft, Raytheon Technologies, and Mitsubishi Electric have submitted significant numbers of requests. This is noteworthy when compared to the over 1.2 million European patents and applications that have not been opted out. It is interesting to observe that the IPC class with the highest number of opted-out European patents and applications is A61K (pharmaceuticals). This trend is unsurprising, considering that the pharmaceutical industry often safeguards their patent rights through multinational litigation.
At Ström & Gulliksson, we have expert European Patent Attorneys in all major technical disciplines, including European Patent Litigators who will be able to represent clients at the UPC. We stand ready to continue supporting our clients in enforcing and protecting their intellectual property rights across Europe together with our sister law firm, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson AB.
Currently, the following attorneys at Ström & Gulliksson are authorised to represent clients before the UPC:
Björn Andersson
bjorn.andersson@sg.se