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  • UPC reason eight: Clear court processes and timeline

    31 January 2022

    The Unitary Patent Court (UPC) would have a common process and timeline for all of its divisions throughout Europe. This would increase the clarity of procedure before the UPC and reduce complexity and delay. It means that a UPC litigator can be assured that a case brought in Stockholm would be handled the same as […]

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  • UPC reason seven: English as the primary language

    28 January 2022

    English will be the primary language of the Unitary Patent (UP) system. All UPs will have an English version. For businesses in the UK, US and other English-speaking countries, there is a clear advantage to being able to litigate in one’s mother tongue. This will be possible at all Unified Patent Court hearings. Costly translations […]

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  • UPC reason six: “Bonus” countries

    27 January 2022

    Where previously a European patent may have only been validated in, say, five EU countries, the Unitary Patent will cover at least 17 of the 27 member states for a lower cost to that of the five previously. These “bonus” countries could provide unexpected benefits to companies. Infringements can arise anytime and anywhere, so the […]

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  • UPC reason five: Quick and efficient

    26 January 2022

    The Unified Patent Court (UPC) would resolve cases much more quickly than is possible under the current system. If a case is brought, it would be processed, and a judgment passed down within a year. This means that businesses can bring their cases to court more quickly if needed. The Court also intends to hear […]

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  • UPC reason four: Great for SMEs

    25 January 2022

    SMEs can greatly benefit from the Unitary Patent (UP) and the UPC. Not only does the UP provide substantial savings on renewal fees across the entire (at least) 17 UP territories, but the UPC also offers several other benefits to SMEs. Firstly, the UPC offers a centralised approach for European IP disputes (substantially cheaper than […]

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  • UPC reason three: Well-run Unified Patent Court

    24 January 2022

    It is expected that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) would provide robust decisions as a result of the standardised practices between divisions and the diverse and well-trained pool of judges. This ensures that issues can be expertly tried, and decisions relied upon in territories previously unaccustomed to handling large volumes of patent litigation. This consistency […]

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  • UPC reason two: Pan-European enforcement

    21 January 2022

    Firstly, the use of a single court system avoids the scenario of different courts in different countries reaching conflicting opinions on the issue of infringement. Even more appealingly, as the Unitary Patent (UP) covers a large number of European territories, it would be possible to use the court to seek relief for infringing activities happening […]

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  • UPC reason one: Cost-effective system

    20 January 2022

    The Unitary Patent system would be cost effective for everyone. It becomes cheaper per country when compared to the traditional bundle of European patents as you seek to protect your invention in an increasing number of countries. Specifically, the annual cost of renewing a Unitary Patent would be equivalent to the cost of renewing individual […]

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  • The Provisional Application Period of the UPC has begun

    19 January 2022

    On 18th January, Austria deposited its instrument of ratification of the Protocol on the Provisional Application of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA). Since Austria was the 13th country to do so, this protocol has now entered into force, such that many of the articles of the UPCA have now entered into “provisional application”.  This […]

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