In or out? It's a question on all our minds at the moment
with the upcoming UK referendum on whether to leave the EU. For
companies with an existing European patent portfolio, it's also
time to start considering whether to opt-out of the forthcoming
Unified Patent Court (UPC), which is expected to launch in the
first half of 2017.
Upon its commencement, the UPC will be the "default"
forum for the assessment of infringement of European patents, and
will also hear challenges to their validity. With the power to
issue pan-European orders (e.g. injunctions) against infringers and
to revoke a European patent in the EU countries in which it has
been validated simultaneously, UPC rulings can be expected to have
a significant impact on the patent landscape. Notably, its
judgments will be enforceable throughout all of the EU countries
which have signed the UPC Agreement. This is highly unlikely to
include all EU countries at the launch of the UPC, though it will
include the
