UPC: latest news on rules of procedure and judges

Published

Aug 31 2022

Written By

I am a partner in our Intellectual Property practice in the Netherlands, based in Amsterdam where I am one of our founding partners. I am also a member of our Tech & Comms, Life Sciences and Energy & Utilities groups.

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The launch of the UPC edges ever closer as the official final text of the Rules of Procedure is published and the appointment of judges continues to advance.

Rules of Procedure

The official text of the final consolidated version of the UPC Rules of Procedure (RoP) was published on 29 August 2022, including the amendments adopted by the Administrative Committee on 8 July 2022 when the final text was approved (see our earlier article: Finally Rules of Procedure of the UPC - Bird & Bird (twobirds.com).

So far only the English text has been published: the French and German will follow.

We highlight a number of provisions below:

The most important change is that an opt-out under Rule 5 must be made in respect of all EPC countries in which the patent was validated, not just the UPC member…