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Home , Unified Patent Court, Unitary patent

The and the

Dr. Leonard Werner-Jones Background

The Past: • No centralization at all • Prosecution country-by-country • Litigation country-by-country

National National Patents actions

2 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Background

The Present (since the 1970’s): • Partial centralization • Prosecution centralized at the EPO • Litigation country-by-country in national courts

European National Patent actions

3 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Background

The Future: • Complete centralization • Prosecution at the EPO • Litigation at the UPC

EP-UEs Centralised action

4 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court 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…

5 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court 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

6 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Territorial Scope

Country EPC UP UPC Ratification Country EPC UP UPC Ratification † †

AL * • LT • • AT • • • 06.08.13 LU • • • 22.05.15 BE • • • 06.06.14 MK* Macedonia • BG • • • 03.06.16 MT • • • 09.12.14 HR • MC* • CY • • NL • • • 14.09.16 CZ • • NO * • DK • • • 20.06.14 PL • EE • • PT • • • 28.08.15 FI • • • 19.01.16 RO • • FR • • • 14.03.14 SM • DE • • RS * • GR • • SK • • HU • • SI • • IS * • ES • IE Ireland • • SE • • • 05.06.14 IT • • • 10.02.17 CH * • LV • • TR * • LI * • UK • •

* not EU member states

7 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Renewal fees – fixed package vs own choice

Total Costs of an EP-UE vs. an EP over lifetime*

250 per state (in k€)

200

EP-costs per state 150 total costs

100

EP-UE costs 50

0 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

(* costs include EPO and national fees but no attorney fees; application with 40 pages / 15 claims; grant in 5th year)

8 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Cost Components

250 Composition of costs (in k€)

200

150

100

50

0 EP-UE EP-DE,FR,UK EP-DE,FR,UK, IT EP-DE,FR,UK, NL EP-25

pre-grant fees validation fees translation costs renewal fees

9 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court European Patent Landscape: Status Quo and Near Future

Grant Enforcement

National National Patents actions

European Centralised Patent with action Unitary Effect

European National Patent OPT OUT actions

Grant procedure and national patents: nothing changes

10 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court European Patent Landscape: Future after Expiry of Transition Period (>7 years)

Grant Enforcement

National National Patents Courts

European Patent with Unitary Effect UPC for UPCA Member States

European Patent National Courts for non-UPCA Member States

11 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Opt-Out

Opting 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

12 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Opt-Out

. 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)

13 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Courts

Luxembourg

Court of Appeal

Central Division Local Division Local Division <50 cases Regional Division

Court of First Instance

14 The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court Thank you for your attention

15 2017 BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology