UPC: one month till lift-off

The Unified Patent Court is set to finally open its doors in one month from today, in what will be the beginning of a historic new era for patents in Europe.

The UPC is scheduled to start hearing cases on June 1, which will be exactly three months since European patent owners have been able to opt their patents in or out during the court’s sunrise period.

Until the sunrise was confirmed (and despite its delay), there were many patent owners that thought this day would never come – 10 years after the court was approved.

Hurdles including a legal challenge by Spain at the Court of Justice of the EU, a constitutional complaint in Germany, and the UK’s decision to pull out of the system have all cast doubt on whether it was ever going to get off the ground.

More recently, issues with the UPC’s case management system caused a two-month delay to the opening date.

When the court begins operating, Managing IP will provide extensive coverage of the UPC, the cases that come before it, and IP owners’ strategies.

For a selection of Managing IP’s past and recent UPC coverage, click on the links below.

• EU court says no to Italy and Spain and yes to unitary patent plan

• Confirmed: UK to shun unitary patent and UPC

• German Federal Constitutional Court declares UPC approval void

• UPC delayed by two months over CMS issues

• German ratification signals UPC countdown