A Practitioner S Guide To The Unified Patent Court And Unitary Patent

A Practitioner's Guide to the Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent provides practical and detailed advice on all aspects of the system for those using it. The book explains how the UPC system works in the context of the wider European patent system, including the UK, and how parties can use it to enforce or revoke European patents and the Unitary Patent, in particular: - The procedures of the UPC from initiating proceedings to appeal, damages and costs hearings; - Rules on competence, substantive law, jurisdiction, language and judges; - The operation of the system alongside the national courts of the contracting countries, the European Patent Office opposition and appeal procedure, and parallel English Patents Court proceedings. The book is written for private practitioners and in-house counsel by a team of patent experts with many years of experience in patent litigation in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. It provides insights from national approaches to the features above and gives answers to common problems.

This new edition is a comprehensive and practical guide to European patent law – a 'ius commune'. The book highlights the areas of consistency and difference between the most influential European patent law jurisdictions: the European Patent Office, England and Wales, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. The book also draws insights from further afield, with contributions from other, very active, patent jurisdictions, including Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland. Uniquely, the book addresses European patent law by subject matter area, assessing the key national and EPO approaches together rather than nation by nation. Each chapter outlines the common ground between the national approaches and provides a guide for the possible application of European patent law in national courts and the UPC in the future. In addition to featuring content on new countries, the second edition includes new chapters dedicated to the substantive aspects of FRAND, declarations, and evidence. There is also an expanded commentary on construction, including common terms used in patent claims. A must-read for anyone working in the field of European patent law.

Forty years after the first plans for the introduction of the EU patent, 25 Member States (with the exception of Italy, Spain and Croatia) have now adopted the Convention on the introduction of the EU patent with unitary effect. A central component of this is the establishment of a unified patent court (EPC), which has a court of first instance and an appeal court. The court has exclusive jurisdiction for infringement and revocation proceedings. This is intended to eliminate the previous problems of patent law enforcement, such as high costs, the risk of divergent decisions and lack of legal certainty. In this book the authors explain the course of proceedings before the EPC both with regard to the fundamental features of the EU patent, in particular its scope of protection, as well as the procedural enforcement of the EU patent. Since there is still no decision-making practice of the EPC, the authors use the decision-making practice of the national courts.

"In this book the authors explain the course of proceedings before the Unified Patent Court. They look at the proceedings as they apply to the fundamental features of the EU patent, in particular its scope of protection, as well as procedural enforcement. As there is still no decision-making practice of the Court, the authors use the decision-making practice of the national courts, as a model. This will be a welcome addition to the libraries of patent lawyers across the 25 member states who have adopted Convention on the introduction of the EU patent with unitary effect."--

A User's Guide to Patents, Fifth Edition provides guidance on the areas of European and UK patent law and procedure that are most important in day-to-day practice. This new edition sets out how patents can be obtained, exploited and enforced and addresses wider public policy aspects of patents and their economic significance, as well as past and likely future trends that affect legal practitioners. It is essential reading for IP practitioners, solicitors and barristers, patent attorneys, in-house lawyers, management executives and inventors. Unique selling points: Explains how patents can be exploited and enforced by reference to the most recent UK and EPO case law Identifies and discusses the different patent law issues that can arise in specific industrial sectors Full tabulation of all English patent validity and infringement decisions given after full trial since 1997 Addresses wider public policy aspects of patents and their economic significance, as well as past and likely future trends in the field, both in Europe and internationally The following relevant developments are included: The new UK law as to infringement by equivalents following Actavis v Lilly (UKSC 2017) The degree to which new types of plant, produced by using certain modern biotechnological techniques, can be patented in the light of the exclusion for 'products obtained by essentially biological processes' and the ongoing controversy as to this between the EPO, the EPO Boards of Appeal and the EU The developing case law in the UK and the EPO on plausibility in the context of insufficiency and obviousness The Unjustified Threats Act 2017 and other procedural developments, such as those involving Arrow type declarations of obviousness Developments in standards related patent litigation, as in Unwired Planet v Huawei (Patents Court 2017, CA 2018)

A Practitioner's Guide to the Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent provides practical and detailed advice on all aspects of the system for those using it. The book explains how the UPC system works in the context of the wider European patent system, including the UK, and how parties can use it to enforce or revoke European patents and the Unitary Patent, in particular: - The procedures of the UPC from initiating proceedings to appeal, damages and costs hearings; - Rules on competence, substantive law, jurisdiction, language and judges; - The operation of the system alongside the national courts of the contracting countries, the European Patent Office opposition and appeal procedure, and parallel English Patents Court proceedings. The book is written for private practitioners and in-house counsel by a team of patent experts with many years of experience in patent litigation in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. It provides insights from national approaches to the features above and gives answers to common problems.

Europe has enacted a new patent system, now offering unitary patents and a Unified Patent Court (UPC) for pan-European enforcement. Country-by-country enforcement is no longer required. Unitary patents add to the strategic options available for innovators to protect their technology, coexisting with the other traditional forms of protection through ordinary European patents, national patents, and utility models. The complex interplay between these enforcement channels creates major strategic challenges for enterprises doing business in Europe. This book is the first to provide an all-embracing view of the new legal situation, thoroughly demonstrating the potential for exploiting unitary patents in tandem with traditional patent rights. It also provides an overall constructive approach to patent procurement and litigation. The authors—prominent patent litigators, two from Germany and one from the United States—present a detailed analysis of these strategic considerations, including: opt-out mechanisms for “ordinary” European patents; patentability standards; inventorship and ownership; claim construction; invalidation proceedings; revocation actions at the UPC; pre-suit considerations; enforcement options and strategies through the UPC and German courts; discovery and evidence taking; and customs actions. Because patent enforcement is a global pursuit and inherently crosses borders, the analysis is presented with an eye toward other European and non-European systems, particularly the common law system of the United States. The goal of this book is to assist patent practitioners worldwide in resolving disputes through a sharpened understanding of options in Europe. Corporate decision-makers and in-house counsel dealing with patents and patent litigation—as well as academics in patent law—will greatly benefit from the authors’ practical guidance in navigating the respective judicial tracks described to promote an optimal strategic approach for the global patent arena.