The Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Court (UPC) will become a reality in April 2023. It will have a profound and lasting impact on the European patent landscape. Described by EPO President, António Campinos, as ‘the most important change in the European patent system since the EPO took up its operations in 1977’, as soon as the UPC opens its doors for business, it will inevitably bring about a significant change to the patent strategies of businesses and patent advisors alike.

Join us at this UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law (IBIL) event, hosted by Taylor Wessing, and engage with our panel of experts. Leading practitioners will identify and discuss the key practical and strategic issues concerning the UPC, and you will also have the opportunity to raise you own questions and concerns. For instance, the new system will affect all existing European patents. These will automatically fall under the UPC’s jurisdiction unless formal steps are taken to ‘opt out’. But when should patentees opt out, how is this done, and what if you change your mind? Equally, when does it make sense to convert traditional EP rights into a UP? Business will also need to be aware of the possibility of being sued for patent infringement in the UPC, rather than in a national court. Practitioners will have to learn how to use the UPC’s Case Management System – the demonstration of how to use it will be invaluable.

The event culminates with the Judges’ Panel during which our distinguished line up of patent judges provide their own opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of the new system. The problem of conflict of interest of part-time judges will form a significant part of the discussion.

The speakers include:

• Tobias Bremi (Swiss Federal Patent Court)
• Cristina Carpani (Net Service SpA)
• Sir Christopher Floyd (UCL)
• Prof. Sir Robin Jacob (UCL)
• Prof. Peter Meier-Beck (UCL / University of Düsseldorf)
• Gwilym Roberts (CIPA)

This is conference is being run as a hybrid event. As the number of in-person tickets are limited, early booking is strongly recommended.