Forty years after the first discussions began with a view to creating a
single European patent, 25 EU Member States (with the exception of
Italy, Spain and Croatia) approved three instruments creating a European
Patent with unitary effect. One of the instruments is the Agreement on a
Unified Patent Court, signed on 19 February 2013. The Agreement provides
for a 'Unified Patent Court' (UPC) as a single court consisting of a
Court of First instance and a Court of Appeal. The court will have
exclusive jurisdiction both in infringement and revocation proceedings.
By this means it is intended that it will provide a less complex and
cheaper alternative to the current situation where patent cases have to
be tried in each EU Member State separately. This commentary is focused
on the procedure of the Unitary Patent Court, and covers Infringement
and Defences; Proceedings and the UPC; Statutes of the UPCC; Financial
Provisions; General Provisions; Languages of Proceedings; Proceedings
before the Court; Powers of the Court; Appeals; Decisions and
Implementation and Operation of Agreement.
