Unified Patent Court: review your patent strategy!

Unified Patent Court: review your patent strategy!

This is a small revolution. As of June 1, 2023, the owner of a European patent can choose to defend the rights of his invention before the brand new Unified Patent Court (UPC). The result will be a single decision, valid in the 17 participating European countries, obtained within a short time.

Are you a company that owns an invention? To take advantage of the new opportunities offered by this new jurisdiction, our teams can help you map out the opportunities and risks in relation to your global competitors.

 

Until now, the owner of a European patent had to initiate separate infringement actions in each European country where his patent was infringed. Long, costly procedures with the risk of obtaining contradictory decisions from one country to another. The procedure before the UPC offers more litigation options. It also presents some risks of which one must be aware.

 

Seizing new procedural opportunities

The UPC combines different judicial mechanisms operated within the European countries. In particular, it is possible to draw up protective letters, a common practice in Germany, which allows for a preventive statement of defence avoiding seizure and preliminary injunction. With our network of long-standing foreign partners, we put together tailor-made teams of lawyers of different nationalities who are familiar with the practices of the judicial systems from which the judges sitting on the UPC are drawn.
We also have a long experience in the field of infringement seizure.

 

Understanding the new delays and the windfall effect for certain operators

The time limits for proceedings before the UPC are short! Companies must anticipate infringement actions and be mobilized with their lawyers to immediately deal with a possible action. On the contrary, the plaintiff of an action before the JUB can benefit from the surprise effect. It is the very DNA of De Gaulle Fleurance to put together a team with agility according to your needs.

Moreover, some operators will take advantage of the novelty and undeniable complexity of this new tool to assert their rights! In particular, patent trolls (also called “patent trolls” or “NPEs” for “Non Practising Entities”).

 

Our LitiPat® barometer analyzes patent litigation since 2017

How many patents are overturned in court? What are the most impactful arguments to defend the validity of a patent? What are the chances of success of a patent infringement action? What is the amount of damages in case of patent infringement? Are patent infringement seizures useful to win a dispute? These are the questions that companies ask themselves on a daily basis.

LitiPat® is therefore an additional decision-making tool that allows to enrich and objectify the analysis with advice and recommendations in addition to the expertise of our lawyers, specialists in this type of litigation.

 

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