What is the role of the Unified Patent Court?

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is an international court established by the Agreement of 19 February 2013 on a Unified Patent Court (UPC). Its role is to rule on the infringement litigation and to the validity of european unitary patents and european patents without unitary effect.

The Unified Patent Court Agreement shall apply to:

• supplementary protection certificates;
• European patents without unitary effect;
• European patent applications pending on or filed after the date of application of this Agreement;
• European patents with unitary effect.

The UPC has exclusive competence to deal with various issues such as infringement actions or European patent invalidity actions. The aim is to harmonize patent law since the decisions of this court will apply to all 18 States in which the agreement is currently in force (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden). Judgments of the UPC shall have effect on the territory of all the Member States which have ratified the UPC.

What is the composition of the Unified Patent Court?

The UPC is composed of:

• a registry (located in Luxembourg);
• a court of first instance which will include a central division located in Paris and local and regional divisions;
• a Court of Appeal (located in Luxembourg).

What are the advantages of the Unified Patent Court (UPC)?

For companies, the creation of this Unified Patent Court has many advantages:

• harmonization of patent law within the
• ensuring fair competition;
• saving time in patent court decisions (and end of forum shopping);
• greater legal certainty;
• reduced costs for securities defense.