The European Patent Office (EPO) announced shortly before Christmas that the Unitary Patent (UP) was legally and technically ready while the date for the entry into force of the Unified Patent Court was officially set for early February 2017.
The Court and Patent fee structures have been finalised, the creation of the IT system administering the electronic filing is soon to be completed, the Rules of Procedure have been through 18 drafts, and the UPCA Agreement has already been ratified by 9 countries, to name but a few steps towards the entry into force of the UPC.
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Unitary Patent are thus nearly ready and time is running low before we all need to be UPC-fluent!
Indeed, some of us are already working on mastering the rules of procedure, case management system, and UPCA, while others are designing their new IP strategy in light of the coming harmonisation of patents in the European Union. In this UPC frenzy however it is difficult for UPC neophytes to know where to start…The UPC Blog would therefore like to dedicate them this page.
Here UPC novices will find short videos introducing the UP and UPC. Our posts can then easily be accessed through the main categories at the top of the page or through tags (for specific topics) for in-depth analysis and “fresh” news. You can also use the “reply” section (at the bottom of most posts) for your questions or comments.
ABC of the UPC:
- The European Patent Organisation has published a short video in which Benoit Batistelli, its president, “reflects on the advantages of the Unitary patent” and explains the main characteristics of the Unitary Patent and the changes that will appear with the Unified Patent Court.
This video does not address issues related to the UP and UPC in-depth, but is a good tool for those who want to understand quickly the impact the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent will have on the present patent environment.
- Three videos from the 2014 European Patent Forum published on youtube by Managing IP will also give a better understanding of the stakes behind the UP and UPC to newbies:
In the first one, Luke McDonagh, an academic from City University London analyses the issues he uncovered in his report produced for the UK Intellectual Property Office on attitudes towards the UP.
The second and the third videos, are example of what companies expect from the UP and UPC.
Watch this space: More videos from the UPC Blog will soon complete this sample…