Unified Patent Court – Less Than One Month to Go

In under one month, litigants will be able to start actions at the UPC. For a patentee, this could mean a single action to pursue infringements in multiple European countries. On the other hand, a central revocation action will also become possible in which multiple locally effective European rights could be revoked in one go. 

J A Kemp has already filed over 2000 opt out requests for patents and applications so that they will not fall under the jurisdiction of the UPC and be at risk of central revocation.

If you intend to opt out patents but have not yet taken action, we recommend that you act swiftly. Although almost one month remains, there are concerns that the UPC case management system may become overloaded in the final weeks, which could potentially delay processing of opt outs and leave patents at risk. 

Regardless of opt out strategy, everyone can agree that the start of the UPC and the new Unitary Patent represent a huge change in the European patent framework. We look forward with interest to participating in the new system and witnessing how it develops.