Analysis and guidance
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Unlocking UPC Success: A Five-Step Framework
What is the UPC? The UPC is a new pan-European court which opened for business on 1 June 2023. It adjudicates disputes relating to European patents (unless they have been opted out), including unitary patents. Instead of litigating country-by-country,...
The UPC expands its jurisdiction limits by granting its first UK injunction
Fujifilm Corporation v. Kodak GmbH, Kodak Holding GmbH, Kodak Graphic Communications GmbH UPC_CFI_359/2023 and UPC_CFI_365/2023 Orders of 18 July 2025 The UPC has begun to shape the contours of European patent litigation following the landmark ECJ ...
The UPC two years on: Withdrawals of actions becoming prominent
The Unified Patent Court has now been running for two years. To mark the occasion, we have looked at the cases and the decisions over the past two years, and share our thoughts on the current state of play. Statistics of Cases The tables below show t...
The Unified Patent Court Turns 1 - Discover the Impact
Darren Smyth provides a summary of the first year of the UPC's operation.
Claim construction at the UPC
For a European patent to be granted, the claims must be “clear and concise”. However, some ambiguity or lack of clarity may be identified in granted claims, during infringement or invalidity proceedings. In these cases, the scope of the c...
Terminology at the Unified Patent Court
The UPC is a new legal system, and it is not to be expected that its terminology should follow any single national system. When we look at the UPC Agreement itself, and the Rules of Procedure and the Case Management System, some issues of terminology a...
UPCA - Harmonisation of Infringement
Over a decade ago, in 2013, when I was writing for the IPKat, I wrote a post opining that the UPC Agreement should produce a harmonisation of the substantive law of patent infringement across Europe[1], on the basis that, ostensibly: 1) Articles 25-2...
The UPC: I've done nothing about it - will it be okay?
Owners of EP applications and patents will have almost certainly have had requests by now asking whether they wish to opt their patents/applications out of the jurisdiction of the UPC. Lodging an opt_out request before 1st June 2023 ensured that you ha...
Winds of Change: Taking Advantage of The New Unitary Patent
As the demand for renewable energy continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important for manufacturers of wind turbines to patent their technology. The new option of “Unitary effect” can provide a cost-effective route to protection in ma...
The limits of an “opt-in” to the UPC – How and when can national actions block the way back to the UPC?
Key points: OPT-OUT / OPT-IN / Art. 83 UPCA / TRANSITIONAL REGIME Immediately prior to the launch of the UPC, there is heated debate among patent owners as to whether or not to declare an “opt-out” from the Court’s competence. Less d...
EIP Amar webinar - Prepare for the UP and UPC
On 21 and 22 March a panel from EIP Latest hosted an informative webinar where they discussed everything your business needs to know about the effect of the incoming Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court. You can listen to the webinar here.