Overview of the UPC
Principle
In parallel with the unitary effect of patents, certain EU Member States decided to create a « Unified Patent Court » (or UPC) to centralize patent litigation at the European level.
This decision was formalized in the « Agreement on a Unified Patent Court » or UPCA, signed in February 2013.
Why the UPC?
Prior to the UPC, the national courts of these States were solely competent to rule on disputes relating to infringement and validity of European patents (or at least the respective national parts of European patents).
It was therefore entirely possible to have divergent decisions within the European Union:
- A French court invalidates the French part of a European patent, while a German court considers the German part of the same European patent to be valid.
From a logical standpoint, this is rather unsettling.
The « Agreement on a Unified Patent Court » seeks to avoid this issue by establishing a specialized court with exclusive competence to settle disputes related:
- to European patents and European patents with unitary effect (or unitary patents).
Entry into Force of the UPC
The UPC Agreement was signed on 19 February 2013 by 25 EU Member States.
However, its entry into force required ratification by at least thirteen States, including the three in which the highest number of European patents were in force in 2012 (Article 89 of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court), namely:
- Germany,
- France, and
- the United Kingdom initially — a role subsequently assumed by Italy following Brexit.
After many twists and turns (see The historical construction), these conditions were finally met: the Agreement entered into force on 1 June 2023, following the deposit of the German instrument of ratification. The UPC Rules of Procedure, for their part, have been applicable since 1 September 2022.
The wait is now truly over.