Under the soon-to-be-introduced Unified Patent Court (UPC) system with a current start date of June 1, 2023, a new patent jurisdiction will arise potentially spanning the whole of the European Union (EU). The advantages are obvious: more cost-efficient litigation with the chance of obtaining an EU-wide injunction. Nevertheless, as with all new laws and regulations (let alone courts), there will be significant uncertainty around the first pending proceedings and how they will be managed by the incipient UPC. In order to mitigate these uncertainties, judges and lawyers need not only consider a whole new set of provisions and rules but also the existing case law under the different current European patent regimes to better understand how to interpret the new rules and resolve the disputes in an efficient but also fair and equitable manner. All stakeholders involved―patentees, defendants, practitioners, and judges―will look for guidance in the relevant provisions, but also in the body of case law formed by national court practice and decisions. There will be a joint struggle to find the best way to litigate incipient European Patents with unitary effects (EP-UEs)—and also those “traditional” European Patents (EP) that have not been opted-out of in time—before the new UPC, keeping in mind the potential competition from national courts for shorter, more effective, and cost-efficient national procedures. Please note that this version of the Framework for Analysis for the Efficient Resolution of Disputes before the Forthcoming European Unified Patent Court is open for public comment through March 15, 2023, and suggestions for improvements are welcome. Jim Ko
Sr. Program Attorney
The Sedona Conference
jwk@sedonaconference.org P.S. Please join us on January 9-10 for The 2023 Sedona Conference on Global Intellectual Property Litigation in London. For program page and to register, click here. Please join the dialogue!
The Sedona Conference WG10 on Patent Litigation Best Practices The mission of Working Group 10 is to develop best practices and recommendations for patent litigation case management. The Working Group Steering Committee is composed of members of the federal trial and appellate court benches, litigators who primarily represent patentees, and those who primarily represent accused infringers in federal court, the Patent Office and the ITC. To become a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group Series (WGS) and WG10, please visit https://thesedonaconference.org/join. |
