The Unified Patent Court (UPC)
At present, court cases about infringement and validity are heard by the national courts of the country concerned. The introduction of the European patent court (the UPC) will centralise the judicial process for all participating countries at one European court. This goes for all new and existing European patents applicable in one or more of the participating countries.
What will the UPC mean for patent holders?
Under the UPC, it will be easier to maintain a European patent, because this can be achieved in all participating countries through one court case. A judgment will have direct consequences for the patent positions in all participating countries. Depending on your situation, this may be advantageous or detrimental in comparison with the current system.
You can opt for (continued) applicability of the current system to your European patent(s). In that case, you must submit what is known as an opt-out request for your current European patent(s), so that nothing will change and court cases will be handled by the national courts.
Independent action by exclusive licence holders
The introduction of the UPC will entail a change for exclusively licensed patents, in that the holder of an exclusive licence will be able to act independently against infringers before the UPC. Since this will apply to all existing European patents, it may also affect your current licence agreements. For this reason, you may wish to adjust your licence agreement or submit an opt-out request.