Final rules of procedure of the Unified Patent Court published

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On July 8, 2022, the second meeting of the UPC Administrative Committee was held in Luxembourg. At this meeting, the member states participating in the provisional application of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) adopted some official documents.

Among them, in particular, are the final Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court, as well as fee tables and organizational rules of the Patent Conciliation and Arbitration Center. In addition, among the published documents there are also those for the Human Resources Department, as well as for the finances and organization of the UPC.

The final Rules of Procedure entered into force on September 1, 2022, and are available online as a PDF here.

The UPC roadmap

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After delays, the Unified Patent Court started its work on June 1, 2023.

With the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Austria as the thirteenth member on January 18, 2022, the UPC had already entered into force provisionally in accordance with the “Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court concerning Provisional Application” (PPA). Under this provisional applicability, preparations for the operation of the UPC were underway. In particular, the UPC Administrative Committee already officially confirmed the locations of the Court of First Instance and adopted the Rules of Procedure and the Table of Costs, which entered into force on September 1, 2022. Also, the judges’ disbursement and the finalization of the IT infrastructure already took place within the framework of provisional applicability.

With the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Germany on February 17, 2023, the preparations were completed. Thus, the 3-month “sunrise period” started and the Unified Patent Court could finally start its work on the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the instrument of ratification on June 1, 2023, according to Art. 89 EPCÜ.

Already during the “sunrise period” an opt-out could be declared ahead of time in order to keep patents out of the UPC system and to prevent a central attack on the patent directly after the entry into force of the UPC. This op-out can be withdrawn at a later date.

  • January 2022

    Preliminary application of UPC starts with 13th ratification (Austria)

  • Beginning until end 2022

    Preparatory work

  • Beginning of 2023

    Deposit of German ratification document (February 17, 2023)

  • Sunrise period

    3 months, starting with the first of March 2023

  • 1st of June 2023

    UPC enters into force

    First day of fourth month after deposit

 

Back to UPC overview

“Trademark Law Aspects of Real Estate Business Law” – Article by Dr. Rudolf Böckenholt in the multidisciplinary “Handbuch Immobilienwirtschaftsrecht”

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In the first edition of the “Handbuch Immobilienwirtschaftsrecht”, published in 2022, BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT partner and attorney at law Dr. Rudolf Böckenholt discusses trademark aspects of real estate business law.

This concerns protection concepts, utilization and exploitation concepts, transfer of rights, infringement claims and expiration of protection of trademarks and business designations in the context of the real estate industry, from planning to construction to management and exploitation of real estate projects.

Das “Handbuch Immobilienwirtschaftsrecht” covers the entire life cycle of a real estate project, starting with project organization, through acquisition, utilization, operation and real estate financing, to real estate capital market law and exploitation, in each case taking into account the framework of civil and public law. The Handbook of Real Estate Business Law is edited by Guido Meyer, lawyer and head of the legal department of a real estate business in Düsseldorf. It unites as authors scientists and practitioners in a cross-disciplinary new standard work.