UPC: The ‘sharp sword’ of global patent litigation
On June 1, 2023, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened its doors for business. This marked an important milestone in European patent jurisdiction. It provides a new venue for parties in cross-jurisdictional patent disputes.
Both infringement and invalidity claims can be brought in a centralised procedure. A single decision can take effect in up to 17 participating member states of the European Union (UPC states). This is expected to attract many litigants, and the new system even comes along with further advantages such as: extremely fast proceedings, high transparency, potential cost savings compared to multiple parallel national proceedings, and the avoidance of divergent decisions in the countries concerned.
UPC attracts first filers
Since its launch, the UPC has rapidly become an attractive venue for litigants, including global players from various industries. As per July 27, 2023, we noted 28 pending proceedings registered in the court’s case management system (CMS), including:
