News & Knowledge
B&B Bulletin
Introduction: What is the Unitary Patent System?
The Unitary Patent System comprises, on the one hand, a new European patent with unitary effect in all participating EU Member States, and, on the other hand, a new Unified Patent Court (UPC) which decide on these unitary patents, but...
Extension of TRIPS waiver to Covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostics.
The Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided in June that all “developing countries” can waive the protection of intellectual property necessary for the production and distribution of Covid 19 vaccines, including all processes, technologies and ingredients required...
ECJ on Interim Measures in Germany – Reactions in Case Law and Literature
After the Munich District Court asked for clarification, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has commented on German court practice regarding preliminary injunctions in patent infringement cases where the validity of the patent in question has not already been confirmed...
New consumer protection law for digital goods
With the Digital Content Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/770), the EU is further expanding the European digital single market and making it easier for consumers to access digital products. The EU’s stated goal was to ensure a balance between a high...
From the land of the “Beetle smile” or on the protection of the famous shape in Germany
The Porsche 911 decision of the Federal Court of Justice (I ZR 222/20) and Ur-Käfer decision of the Higher Regional Court of Braunschweig (2 U 47/19) The Volkswagen Beetle and the Porsche 911 are indisputably among the great classics of...
When was the new system put into operation?
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...
Competence of the UPC
In principle, since the entry into force of the Agreement, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has had exclusive jurisdiction over civil proceedings relating to European patents, unitary patents, supplementary protection certificates for products protected by such patents and European patent...
Structure and functionality of the UPC
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) consists of a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal and a Registry. Court of First Instance The Court of First Instance comprises a central chamber sitting in Paris and a division sitting in...
Strategic considerations
The introduction of the Unitary Patent System paves ways for taking many different routes towards a European patent strategy. Patent law and jursidiction Multiple different choices can be made with regard to the nature of the patent right and with...
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