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Patent litigation in Europe before the UPC

Since the inauguration of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) on 1^st June 2023, the new European court has gained traction rapidly. Its popularity stems from the fact that it offers the possibility to obtain decisions valid in the majority of European countries.

At CASALONGA, we have been actively involved in the UPC’s development for many years. Our team - composed of European patent attorneys and experienced litigators - has advised legislators, participated in working groups, and thoroughly prepared for the new system.
We are proud to represent clients before the UPC. The majority of our professionals are registered as authorized UPC representatives, ensuring full compliance and seamless representation.

A Dual Approach: Legal + Technical Expertise

We strategically pair our attorneys-at-law with European patent attorneys on each case to deliver both legal precision and deep technical insight. With teams based in France and Germany, we tailor our approach to each case’s jurisdictional and technological complexity.

Mastery of UPC Procedure

Our team includes professionals who contributed to shaping the UPC and its Rules of Procedure. This insider knowledge ensures we can navigate the procedural nuances of the central, local, and regional divisions with confidence and precision.

Local Presence Where It Matters

With offices in Paris and Munich, we are ideally positioned to represent clients before the most active divisions of the UPC.

Need Guidance on the UPC?

The UPC system is new and potentially confusing. We’ve created a visual guide to the UPC to help claimants and defendants understand the process.

Find our 10 UPC information sheets here.

Explore the UPC with Our Interactive Code

To support businesses, lawyers, and patent professionals navigating the new system, we’ve developed an Interactive UPC Code - a dynamic tool that makes the complex UPC framework accessible and easy to understand.

It offers interactive browsing with 4 main features:

- Cross-references between all Rules and Articles for quick and easy reading in the three official languages (English, French, and German),
- Case law directly linked to the relevant Rules and Articles,
- Commentaries on the most important Rules and Articles,
- Keywords search on the texts, commentaries, and decisions.

The Interactive Code is freely available upon registration and designed to facilitate the consultation and understanding of the UPC texts and decisions.

Access the Interactive UPC Code on www.upc-casalonga.eu.

UPC in a nutshell

- The UPC has exclusive jurisdiction to decide on infringement and validity of European patents and Unitary patents: the UPC replaces the national courts for European patents.

- During a transitional period of 7 years, it is still possible to choose either the UPC or the national courts.

- Opt out: during the transitional period, it is possible to register, for a specific European patent application or a specific European patent, a declaration that only national courts shall be competent for this European patent application or European patent, during the entire life of the patent.