Unified Patent Court on track to operate from 2023

The second meeting of the Administrative Committee was held in Luxembourg with all Contracting Member States and observers participating. The decisions made by the Administrative Committee suggest that the Unified Patent Court can reasonably be expected to start operations in early 2023.

 

Kelda Style, expert European patent attorney at Page White Farrer in London outlines the key developments:

• a list of recommendations for the most suitable candidates to be appointed judges of the Unified Patent Court, due to be adopted before the summer break;
• the Court’s Rules of Procedure and its Table of Fees will enter into force on 1 September 2022;
• the Organisational Rules of the Unified Patent Court’s Patent Mediation and Arbitration centre were adopted; and
• the setting up of local and regional divisions of the Court of First was confirmed.

 

The local divisions will be located in:

• Austria (Vienna);
• Belgium (Brussels);
• Denmark (Copenhagen);
• Finland (Helsinki);
• France (Paris);
• Germany (Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Mannheim, Münich);
• Italy (Milan);
• the Netherlands (The Hague);
• Slovenia (Ljubljana); and
• Portugal (Lisbon).

 

The regional Nordic-Baltic division will be mainly located in Sweden (Stockholm).

 

Click here to read the official announcement from the Unified Patent Court.

 

How we can help

If you have any questions about how you will be affected by the Unified Patent Court and the Unitary Patent, please contact us via our online enquiry form. Both our UK and Germany based European Patent Attorneys will be able to obtain unitary patents at the European Patent Office, exactly as we do for European patents. We will also be able to prepare and file opt out requests.

 

For advice on how you can prepare, you can also read our article on the four key steps to prepare for arrival of the Unified Patent Court and the Unitary Patent.