the unitary patent and the unified patent court · unified patent court dr. leonard werner-jones. 2...
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The Unitary Patent and the
Unified Patent Court
Dr. Leonard Werner-Jones
2
Background
The Past:
• No centralization at all
• Prosecution country-by-country
• Litigation country-by-country
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
National Patents
Nationalactions
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Background
The Present (since the 1970’s):
• Partial centralization
• Prosecution centralized at the EPO
• Litigation country-by-country in national
courts
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
European
Patent
Nationalactions
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Background
The Future:
• Complete centralization
• Prosecution at the EPO
• Litigation at the UPC
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
EP-UEs Centralised
action
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Filing and Prosecution
Filing and prosecution
• No change
• The EPO will still be responsible for search,
examination and grant of patents
• All key aspects of EPO practice remain
unchanged
• The fun and games start at grant…
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
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EPO Grant – Decision Time
When an EP is granted, applicant will
have choice:
1) Validate to get an EP patent with unitary
effect (EP-UE / UP (Unitary Patent))
2) Validate the patent country-by-country as
we do now (Classic EP)
• Decision has to be made within 1 month of
grant by the EPO
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
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Territorial Scope
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
Country EPC UP UPC Ratification
†
AL * Albania •
AT Austria • • • 06.08.13
BE Belgium • • • 06.06.14
BG Bulgaria • • • 03.06.16
HR Croatia •
CY Cyprus • •
CZ Czech Republic • •
DK Denmark • • • 20.06.14
EE Estonia • •
FI Finland • • • 19.01.16
FR France • • • 14.03.14
DE Germany • •
GR Greece • •
HU Hungary • •
IS * Iceland •
IE Ireland • •
IT Italy • • • 10.02.17
LV Latvia • •
LI * Liechtenstein •
Country EPC UP UPC Ratification
†
LT Lithuania • •
LU Luxembourg • • • 22.05.15
MK* Macedonia •
MT Malta • • • 09.12.14
MC* Monaco •
NL Netherlands • • • 14.09.16
NO * Norway •
PL Poland •
PT Portugal • • • 28.08.15
RO Romania • •
SM San Marino •
RS * Serbia •
SK Slovakia • •
SI Slovenia • •
ES Spain •
SE Sweden • • • 05.06.14
CH * Switzerland •
TR * Turkey •
UK United Kingdom • •
* not EU member states
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Renewal fees – fixed package vs own choice
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
Total Costs of an EP-UE vs. an EP over lifetime*
0
50
100
150
200
250
DE GB FR NL IT BE SE AT CZ GR RO PT DK FI HU IE SK BG LT SI LU LV EE CY MT
per state (in k€)
EP-UE costs
EP-costs per state
(* costs include EPO and national fees but no attorney fees; application with 40 pages / 15 claims;
grant in 5th year)
total costs
9 The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
Cost Components
0
50
100
150
200
250
EP-UE EP-DE,FR,UK EP-DE,FR,UK, IT EP-DE,FR,UK, NL EP-25
Composition of costs (in k€)
pre-grant fees validation fees translation costs renewal fees
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European Patent Landscape: Status Quo and Near Future
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
Grant Enforcement
National
actions
National
Patents
Grant procedure and national patents: nothing changes
European
Patent with
Unitary Effect
Centralised
action
National
actions
European
Patent OPT OUT
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European Patent Landscape: Future after Expiry of Transition Period (>7 years)
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
Grant Enforcement
National
Courts
National
Patents
European
Patent with
Unitary Effect
UPC for UPCA
Member States
European
Patent National Courts for non-UPCA
Member States
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Opt-Out
• Opt-out removes the UPC’s jurisdiction and gives
national courts sole jurisdiction
• Opt-out not possible once an action is commenced
at the UPC
• No opt-out fee
• Opt-out can be withdrawn
Opting out
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
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Opt-Out
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
Opt-out removes the UPC’s competence with regard to nationally validated EPs (but not EP-UEs)
Opting-out not possible if action pending before the UPC (or if action has been concluded)
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Central Division
Local Division
Local Division <50 cases
Regional Division
Court of First Instance
Court of Appeal
Luxembourg
Courts
The Unitary Patent and the Unif ied Patent Court
15 2017 BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology
Thank you for your attention