Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court - in force 01 September 2022
Good things take time. The Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), supplementing the UPC Agreement (UPCA) and the Statute of the UPC, were adopted by the UPC’s Administrative Committee in a meeting on 08 July 2022 with changes to Rules 4, 5, 5A, 262 and 262A.
As will be recalled, Rule 5 relates lodging of an application to opt-out “classic” European patent applications, European patents and related supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) but not unitary patents (UPs) from the exclusive competence of the new UPC according to Article 83(3) UPCA before an action against any of them can be brought before the UPC as well as subsequent withdrawal of an opt-out. Rule 5A relates to an application to remove an unauthorised application to opt out or unauthorised withdrawal of an opt-out.
Rules of Procedure of the UPC
The consolidated versions of the Rules of Procedure of the UPC in English, French and German have now been made available on the UPC’s website.
Read moreHaving entered into force on 01 September 2022, that is, before entry into force of the UPCA itself, the Rules of Procedure of the UPC can be applied during the “sunrise period” during which “classic” European patent applications, European patents and related SPCs may be safely opted-out before the UPC opens its doors, which can be expected to happen in early 2023.
However, applicants, proprietors and holders of European patent applications, European patents and SPCs, respectively, being still sceptical of the new court, are reminded of a unique feature of the UPC: technically qualified judges appointed on basis of their specific qualifications and experience, ensuring that all fields of technology are covered. This is a first, and expected to make the court agile.
Speaking about the human factor: all judges (all legally qualified judges and technically qualified judges) will be nationals of a contracting member state of the UPC, ensure the highest standards of competence, and have proven experience in the field of patent litigation and good command of at least one of English, French and German, the official languages of the European Patent Office (EPO).
With the "Go" for the Unified Patent Court apparently only a few months away, it’s time to "get set", now.
