‘In about two years’ time the new system will launch’, was the expectation when this blogger was asked in the Autumn of 2014 to start following and writing about the Unitary Patent Package. A year before, 360 candidates had already submitted an ‘expression of interest’ to become a UPC judge, of which 124 were qualified…
While the start of the Unitary Patent system will celebrated tomorrow at the UPC in Luxembourg and on Thursday with the EPO event “Welcoming the Unitary Patent System – A new era for innovation in Europe”, tomorrow also a conference will be held in Brussels (4.30 – 6.30 pm) with a distinctly more critical title:…
It is unfortunate that the Unified Patent Court hired technical judges without explaining sooner what consequences that would have for their main jobs. Patent litigator Christof Augenstein has said this in an interview with Kluwer IP Law. Augenstein argued: ‘As there are only very few countries with technically qualified judges, it was absolutely clear that…
In view of the problems with opting out patents from the Unified Patent Court’s jurisdiction, the court will temporarily accept opt out applications in hard copy in case the CMS ceases to function. Just six days before the Unified Patent Court opens its doors, the court has announced that taking into account the ‘sharp increase of…
The Unified Patent Court has temporarily restricted non-essential functions of the CMS, in its endeavour to ensure that users who want to file opt-outs can do so within the Sunrise period. In an announcement on its website, the court says: ‘In view of the approaching end of the Sunrise period, we are striving to ensure…
The Italian Government has agreed with France and Germany to set up a branch of the central division of the Unified Patent Court in Milan. This has been announced by the Italian ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation. According to a press release, the agreement will be submitted to the other UP member states…
The Unified Patent Court has published an update on the problems with the CMS and the opting out of patents of the jurisdiction of the court before the starting date of 1 June 2023. On its website, the UPC writes: ‘Dear users of the UPC Case Management System, As you may have experienced, the CMS…
The Unified Patent Court has formally announced that, for the time being, competencies which were originally assigned to the London seat of the UPC central division, will be divided between Munich and Paris. Remarkably, there is no mention of Milan as third seat of the central division. Only two months ago, a spokesperson for the…
Less than three weeks before the planned opening of the Unified Patent Court, a message has been published on its website as a reaction to problems with the content management system, which apparently isn’t able to cope with the growing inflow of opt-outs. Proprietors who don’t want their patents to fall under the UPC need…
Around 200 judges, patent litigators, patent attorneys, other patent experts, representatives of scientific institutions and companies, government officials, The Hague mayor Jan van Zanen and Dutch minister of Economic Affairs and Climate, Micky Adriaansens, attended the opening ceremony of the Dutch local division of the Unified Patent Court today in The Hague. Minister Adriaansens stressed…
