Milan steps into London's Shoes to host a Section of the Central Division of the UPC's Court of First Instance

Author Francesco Ungaro Licence CCO 1.0 Deed Source Wikimedia

 

Jane Lambert: 

It is ironic that the government of one of the countries that challenged the unitary patent and the establishment of the Unified Patent Court in Joined Cases C-274/11 and C-295/11, Kingdom of Spain and another v European Commission and others : [2013] EUECJ C-274/11 has just signed an agreement with the Unified Patent Court for Milan to host a section of the Central Division of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court (see The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation's press release of 26 Jan 2024 Headquarters Agreement signed between Italy and the Unified Patent Court).

Painful though this announcement is for many of us who had been looking forward to practising before a pan-European patent court for the better part of our lives it was an inevitable consequence of the British government's reversal of policy on the Unified Patent Court between 2018 and 2020 (see Jane Lambert Volte-Face on the Unified Patent Court Agreement 29 Feb 2020 NIPC News).  In his capacity as Foreign Secretary the former MP, Boris Johnson, deposited an instrument of ratification of the agreement on World Intellectual Property Day 2018 which was nearly two years after the brexit referendum.  As soon as he became Prime Minister less than 2 years later he withdrew this country from the agreement.

The decision of the Administrative Committee of the Unified Patent Court to change all references to London in the UPC Agreement to references to Milan pursuant to art 87 of the Agreement was taken on 26 June 2023.  The launch of the UPC appears to have been a great success.  According to a report on the caseload of the court dated 1 Feb 2024  the Court of First Instance has received a total number of 217 cases and the Court of Appeal has received 11 appeals.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during UK business hours or send me a message on my contact form.

Unified Patent Court Prepares to Open

Author Jean-Noel Lafargue Licence CC BY-SA 2.5 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

The Administrative Committee of the Unified Patent Court is one of three committees that have been established by art 11 of the Agreement on a Unified Patents Court to ensure the effective implementation and operation of that Agreement.  It held its first meeting on 22 Feb 2022 following Austria's deposit of its instrument of ratification (see The UPC is now on the Final Stretch but the UK won't be part of it 27 Jan 2022).

In an Announcement on the Unified Patent Court Administrative Committee’s inaugural meeting published by the Court on 23 Feb 2022, the meeting was described as "historic" as it marked the birth of the court as an international organization. The meeting took place in the building that has been earmarked for the Court of Appeal and Registry in Luxembourg.   The Committee adopted rules of procedure, rules on the European Patent Litigation Certificate and other qualifications, Service, Staff and Financial Regulations. It elected Alexander Ramsay who had previous;y chaired the Preparatory Committee as its chair. Ir also chose the members of the Advisory Committee who will interview applicants for judicial appointments from the end of March.

The contracting parties also gave details of the local and regional divisions that they plan to set up. Germany plans to set up four at Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Mannheim and Munich, France one at Paris, Italy one in Milan and Sweden a regional one for itself and its Baltic neighbours in Stockholm.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form at other times.