Publications, articles de presse, classements, awards et évènements à venir
Starting a litigation at the end of the sunrise period
The sunrise period, which precedes the start of the UPC by three months, will start on March 1st. The sunrise period will be strategic in the preparation of your future litigation, whether it is an action for invalidity or an action for infringement, as a claimant or in defense.
Unitary patent and Unified Patent Court: organization and impacts on IP rights
Camille Pecnard participated in a round table on the unitary patent and the JUB for the Lettre des Juristes d’Affaires (LJA) which resulted in an article in their magazine.
Unitary patent and Unified Patent Court: organization and impacts on IP rights
Camille Pecnard and Damien Colombié co-authored an article on the UPC and the unitary patent published this week in the Lettre des Juristes d’Affaires (LJA).
UPC – Protective Letters
Known in some national European jurisdictions, unknown in others, the UPC implements a defensive measure against provisional measures that might be requested by a patentee: the protective letter. Provisional measures that may be requested by a patentee against an alleged infringer include: prohibition of the continuation of the alleged infringement (A62(1)UPCA) and seizure or delivery of the products suspected of infringing a patent so as to prevent their entry into, or movement, within the channels of commerce (A62(3)UPCA).
New Ratification of The UPCA by The Bundestag – What Is Next ?
The German National Assembly (Bundestag) has now adopted the law for ratifying the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) with the required majority. As a next step, the Bundesrat, the second chamber, has to approve the law. As the Bundesrat did not have any objections previously, it is likely that the law will pass with the required majority. The next session of the Bundesrat is planned for 18 December 2020, however the schedule of the session is not yet fixed. After the vote of the Bundesrat, the government and the president have formally to sign the law.
German Federal Constitutional Court upholds the constitutional complaint regarding the UPC for lack of qualified majority vote: is there still a chance for the UPC?
In its order released on 20 March 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) holds the act of approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) void due in particular to the lack of a qualified majority vote. While this decision delays the ratification of the UPC Agreement by Germany even further, the future of the UPC seems more than ever uncertain. However, in upholding the constitutional complaint on this ground, a future ratification of the UPC Agreement by Germany still remains possible.
The decision on the constitution complaint directed against the Act of Approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court is announced to be published on 20 March 2020
While the constitutional complaint against the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) filed in April 2017 with the German Federal Constitutional Court (“FCC”) was put on the case list to be heard in 2018 and in 2019, the FCC has announced that the decision will be released on 20 March 2020.
Unitary Patent – Lithuania Completes Its Ratification Formalities
According to the website of the Council of the European Union, Lithuania has completed its ratification formalities on 24 August 2017. This is the 14th ratification following that of Estonia which joined the unitary patent system on 1 August 2017. To be complete, the unitary patent system requires 13 ratifications, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. France is already part of the system since 14 March 2014. However, according to the Preparatory Committee, the United Kingdom and Germany still have some hurdles to overcome before the unitary patent system enters into force (you can see our previous posts on the
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5th conference on the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court
The 5th conference on the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court, organized annually by Premier Cercle in association with the EPO, was held in Munich on July 5, 2017. First, an overview over the state of advancement of the implementation of the Unitary Patent and the UPC from a technical, legal and financial point of view was given by a member of the Committee in charge of the Implementation of the Unitary Patent Protection. It appears that the implementation is completed at all levels, and that the system is ready to launch as soon as the ratification process has
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German Court delays UPC Ratification
The German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has delayed the ratification of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement (http://www.lto.de/recht/nachrichten/n/bverfg-stoppt-eu-einheits-patent-verfassungsbeschwerde/) as became known today. The Constitutional Court has asked the Federal President of Germany to put the process of ratification on hold following a constitutional complaint filed by a private person. The Office of the Federal President informed the court that the process was “suspended” following the request. The constitutional complaint relates to the law ruling the Unified Patent Court, but as the two are closely related, the entry into force of the Unitary Patent has also been put on hold. At this
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UPC launch in December 2017: dream or reality?
As we have seen, the UK Prime Minister has surprisingly called earlier last week for General Election to take place on 8 June 2017. Authorized by Parliament on 19 April 2017, this Election is likely to freeze the Parliamentary business very soon.
Last version of the Rules of Procedure – April 2017
The UPC Preparatory Committee published on April 10th, 2017 the last version of the Rules of Procedure, adopted during a meeting on the 15th of March 2017. This presumably final version of the Rules of Procedure clarifies some points that were still vague or incomplete but no significant changes from the previous version of the rules is to be reported; that may be the reason why the Committed decided not to update the title of the Draft Rules which remains the “18th Draft of the Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court”. Here is a summary of the most
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