If you do business in Europe in a field in which there exist patented technologies, and especially if you own one or more European patents in even a single European country, you should continue reading.
The European patent world is about to change in a way which will cause potentially massive disruption to your business, or at least, to the role of patent rights in business. This applies to Europe generally, but more specifically to the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden.
The above-listed countries have now become part of a new centralized European court – the Unified Patent Court or UPC – which, from June 1, 2023, will become THE court for adjudicating all legal proceedings which relate to European patents, including yours and those of your competitors. To be included you do not need to do anything as this will happen automatically.
However, you can inform the European Patent Office that you wish to “opt out”, namely, that regarding your own patent, you are not interested in the UPC taking charge and that you still wish to use national courts in the above 17 countries.
Risk Management
It is at this point that you ask yourself: “What should I do? Will it be better for me to opt out, or to do nothing and have my European patents handled by the UPC?” There is no single answer for any single business or any single patent. That depends on various factors, none of which can be decided for you. Once you know the pros and cons, you have to weigh which choice presents the better risk for your business. You must ask yourself various business related questions, the answers to which only you know.
In the full article we provide a short guide for you, the business owner, to help you reach the conclusions that are right for you and your company.
A brief primer in the form of a 5 step flow chart may be downloaded here.
As always, if you wish to discuss further, or to receive assistance should you decide to opt out, please do contact us.
