A Q&A guide to patent litigation in the Unified Patent Court.

The Q&A gives a high-level overview of patent disputes, including sources of law; court system; substantive law; parties to litigation; enforcement options; competition and anti-trust issues; preliminary relief; final remedies; appeal procedure; and litigation costs.

The Q&A is part of the global guide to patent litigation. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit global.practicallaw.com/patentlitigation-guide.

Please note the law-stated date of the resource, and that it may not incorporate all recent developments. In March 2020, the UK announced that it would not be seeking involvement in the Unitary Patent or the Unified Patent Court (UPC) system. This means that the UK will cease to participate in the Unified Patent Court Agreement.

Additionally, the German Federal Constitutional Court issued its verdict on a challenge to the constitutionality of the German legislation approving the UPC Agreement. The majority ruling held that the UPC Agreement was one that, under the German Basic Law, required a two-thirds majority in the legislative bodies, because it violated the rights of German citizens by exposing them to the influence of a supranational public authority. The German Act of Approval of the UPC Agreement, although passed by a unanimous vote in the Bundestag, was not valid because not enough members of that body participated in the vote. There is no appeal from this decision, so if the German government wants to continue with its participation in the UPC it seems that it will have to put the matter again before the legislature and ensure the necessary qualified majority.

The UPC Agreement requires that Germany, among others, ratifies the Agreement before it can come into operation. As the UK, another country whose ratification is required, is now stating that it does not intend to continue with the UPC even though it has ratified the Agreement, the future of the UPC seems uncertain.