Breaking: UPC confirms names of 85 judges

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Breaking: UPC confirms names of 85 judges

Europe viewed from space at night with city lights in European Union member states, global EU business and finance, satellite communication technology, 3D render of planet Earth, world map from NASA

Klaus Grabinski will lead as president of the Court of Appeal, with Florence Butin as president of the Court of First Instance

The organising committee for the Unified Patent Court confirmed the appointment of 85 judges today, October 19, marking a hugely significant step on the path to the court becoming a reality.

Managing IP reported yesterday that the list would be confirmed today, and the UPC committee didn't disappoint.

The court will be led by Germany’s Klaus Grabinski, who will be president of the Court of Appeal, and France’s Florence Butin, president of the Court of First Instance.

Of the 85 judges, 34 are legally qualified and 51 technically qualified.

The full list of appointed judges is below.

Court of Appeal

Klaus Grabinski

Françoise Barutel

Peter Blok

Emanuela Germano

Rian Kalden

Patricia Rombach

Ingeborg Simonsson

Court of First Instance, Paris:

Florence Butin

Paolo Catallozzi

Maximilian Haedicke

Tatyana Zhilova

Post to be filled before start of court’s operations

Court of First Instance, Munich

Mélanie Bessaud

Ulrike Voß

Post to be filled before start of court’s operations

Local division, Vienna:

Walter Schober

Local division, Brussels:

Samuel Granata

Local division, Copenhagen:

Post to be filled before start of court’s operation

Local division, Helsinki:

Petri Rinkinen

Local division, Paris:

Carine Gillet

Camille Lignieres

Local division, Düsseldorf:

Bérénice Thom

Ronny Thomas

Local division, Hamburg:

Sabine Klepsch

Stefan Schilling

Local division, Mannheim:

Holger Kircher

Peter Michael Tochtermann

Local division, Munich:

Tobias Pichlmaier

Matthias Zigann

Local division, Milan:

Pierluigi Perrotti

Alima Zana

Local division, The Hague:

Edger Brinkman

Margot Kokke

Local division, Lisbon:

Rute Lopes

Local division, Ljubljana:

Mojca Mlakar

Nordic-Baltic Regional Division

Kai Härmand

Stefan Johansson

Technically qualified judges

Biotechnology:

Arwed Andreas Burrichter

Eric Enderlin

Paolo Gerli

Krister Karlsson

András Kupecz

Roman Maksymiw

Cornelis Schüller

Chemistry and pharmaceuticals:

Michael Alt

Kirsikka Etuaho

Renaud Fulconis

John Meidahl Petresen

Stefanie Parchmann

Laure Sarlin

Casper Struve

Steen Wadskov-Hansen

Carola Wagner

Electricity:

Pascal Attali

Eric Augarde

Bertrand Cochet (to take up of duties as of Nov 1 2023)

Grégoire Desrousseaux

Alain Dumont

Dennis Kretschmann

Alessandro Sanchini

Andrea Scilletta

Simon Walker

Mechanical engineering:

Michel Abello

Uwe Ausfelder

Koen Callewaert

Giorgio Checcacci

Paolo Ernesto Crippa

Claus Elmeros

Frédéric Gaillarde

Bernard Christiaan Ledeboer

Elisabetta Papa

Martin Schmidt

Uwe Schwengelbeck

Max Tilmann

Marie-Paule Vandeberg

Patrice Vidon

Pascal Lucien Pierre Weber

Stefan Wilhelm

Physics:

Michael Feuchaus

Anders Max Hansson

Ulrike Keltsch

Gérard Myon

Dörte Otten-Dünnweber

Andrea Perronace

Christoph Dominik Schober

Patrik Rydman

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

While the firm lost several litigators this month, Winston & Strawn is betting that its transatlantic merger will strengthen its IP practice
In other news, Ericsson sought a declaratory judgment against Acer and Netflix filed a cease-and-desist letter against ByteDance over AI misuse
As trade secret filings rise due to AI development and economic espionage concerns, firms are relying on proactive counselling to help clients navigate disputes
IP firm leaders share why they remain positive in the face of falling patent applications from US filers, and how they are meeting a rising demand from China
The power of DEI to swing IP pitches is welcome, but why does it have to be left so late?
Mathew Lucas has joined Pearce IP after spending more than 25 years at Qantm IP-owned firm Davies Collison Cave
Exclusive survey data reveals a generally lax in-house attitude towards DEI, but pitches have been known to turn on a final diversity question
Managing IP will host a ceremony in London on May 1 to reveal the winners
Abigail Wise shares her unusual pathway into the profession, from failing A-levels to becoming Lewis Silkin’s first female IP partner
There are some impressive AI tools available for trademark lawyers, but law firm leaders say humans can still outthink the bots
Gift this article