ARTICLE · 16 JUNE 2023

UP & UPC: Legal And Documentary Considerations

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The UPC and Unitary Patent (UP) have now come into effect.

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The UPC and Unitary Patent (UP) have now come into effect.

There are a number of important decisions that need to be made by patent holders in relation to their portfolios including, but not limited to (i) opt ins and outs (ii) ownership and registration (iii) applicable law to existing and future patent applications.

In order to make decisions surrounding opt-outs, it will be important to consider existing agreements and arrangements that are in place with licensees to work out who is responsible for that decision (i.e. patentee or licensee), and if contractual provisions are silent in relation to this point, then conversations need to be had in order to make those decisions.

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