UPC Stretches Its 'Long Arms

A recent decision from the Düsseldorf Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has held that the Unified Patent Court has 'long arm' jurisdiction to hear an infringement action in respect of a United Kingdom part of a European where the defendant is domiciled in a Contracting Member State, for example Germany. This is despite the United Kingdom being outside the EU and not a Contracting Member State of the UPC.

Before the commencement of the UPC, there was considerable debate as to how wide the UPC would consider their jurisdiction. Could the UPC have a 'long arm' jurisdiction where the effects of its judgements would impact parties in countries that had not signed up to the Court or even in countries outside the EU?