“Opt-Out” – Companies With Business Interests in Europe Need to Assess Their Patent Portfolio Now

The Unified Patent Court (UPC), the proposed common patent court in the EU, is one major step closer to entry into force, as the German upper parliament (Bundesrat) recently voted on and approved the legislation for the UPC Agreement (Agreement) and its protocol on the provisional application. Currently, it is expected that the UPC will be operational as of spring 2022.

The UPC will provide an efficient forum for the enforcement of patents in Europe, ending the need for parallel litigation in different member states of the EU. The UPC will also harmonize substantive patent law with regard to the scope and limitations of the rights conferred by the patent and the remedies for infringement. However, not all patents should be included in the UPC jurisdiction.

Our client alert addresses which patents should be considered for the “opt-out” and discusses opt-out procedures.