UPC Confirms Re-allocation of London’s Central Division Cases Between Paris and Munich

Since it was confirmed that the UPC would be proceeding without the UK, one of the key questions has been what will happen to the cases which were originally supposed to be allocated to the London branch of the Central Division. These cases were due to be those in International Patent Classification (IPC) classes A (“Human Necessities”) and C (“Chemistry”).

There has been considerable speculation about where such cases might be heard, with several countries vying for the (re-)location of the third branch of the Central Division. However, in the absence of a definite decision on this before the UPC starts accepting cases on 1 June 2023, the UPC has announced that cases relating to patents in IPC A (which includes medical inventions and pharmaceuticals) will be allocated to the Paris branch, whilst cases relating to patents in IPC C (which includes organic and inorganic chemistry and metallurgy) will be allocated to Munich.

J A Kemp is well placed to assist with actions before the Munich and Paris branches of the UPC via its offices in Munich and Paris.