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ARTICLE · 01 MAY 2026

The UPC And License Agreements

Bardehle Pagenberg
Bardehle Pagenberg
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Bardehle Pagenberg

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2023 will most likely be the year the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will open its doors. With the imminent start of the new European court system, the underlying legal framework will also become applicable.

European UnionIntellectual Property
Alexander Haertel
Alexander Haertel
Jan Bösing
Jan Bösing
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2023 will most likely be the year the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will open its doors. With the imminent start of the new European court system, the underlying legal framework will also become applicable. 

The benefits of the UPC are very clear, e.g., the centralized enforcement of patents. However, this comes at the price of the risk of centralized attacks against the validity of patents. If a patentee does not act, the new system will also automatically apply to classic European Patents. To prevent this automatic step, it is necessary to act and declare an opt-out. The new system also entails certain rules on how to enforce a patent, which may influence the way a license agreement is drafted. Hence, it is necessary to check existing and future license agreements for their compatibility with the new UPC system.

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