The Creation of Unitary Patent Protection in the European Union

29 November 2012 - 30 November 2012

Time: 9:30am - 1:00pm
Venue: Maison de la Recherche 54, rue de Varenne 75007 Paris

The Academy of European Law and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London will be holding a conference in Paris on the 29 and 30 November 2012 on the subject of:

The Creation of Unitary Patent Protection in the European Union.

• Unitary Patent
• Unified Patent Litigation System

The implementation of a unitary patent in the European Union requires the adoption of two Regulations; one on the creation of unitary patent protection (COM(2011)215) and a second on the applicable translation arrangements (COM(2011)216). 

An international draft agreement that would have established a patent court system with exclusive jurisdiction for infringement and validity issues relating to both EU and traditional European patents was adopted by the Council in 2009. Considered by the CJEU as incompatible with the EU Treaties (Opinion 1/09), a new agreement on a Unified Patent Court restricting the Court Agreement to EU Member States was adopted in 2011. On 29 June 2012, the European Council reached an agreement on the location of the Unified Patent Court. The seat of the central division will be in Paris but two sections competent for specific cases will be created, one in London (for chemicals and pharmaceuticals) and one in Munich (for mechanical engineering). The conference will offer a platform for discussion on the latest proposals which are now being discussed within the European Parliament.

Key topics:

The unitary patent

• Coexistence with European and national patents
• Consequences of the unitary effect
• Role of the European Patent Office (EPO)
• Translation regime and system of compensation
• Enhanced cooperation

The unified patent litigation system

•  Main features since CJEU opinion 1/09 on the compatibility of the 2009 draft agreement with EU law
• Functioning of the litigation system
• Competences of the divisions of the UPC and optional bifurcation
• Exclusivity, transitional arrangements and opt-out

A round table involving legal practitioners, experts and users of the patent system will discuss the impact of the new system.

Who should attend?

Judges, patent attorneys, IP practitioners and other business lawyers, as well as national and EU civil servants dealing with patent law issues.

CPD points

This event is accredited with 10 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.

Speakers

• Raffaele Baldassarre, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels*
• Dr Friedrich Wenzel Bulst, Legal Service, European Commission, Brussels*
• Marie Courboulay, Vice-President, Tribunal de Grande Instance, Paris
• Mihály Ficsor, Vice-President, Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, Budapest
• Karel Havlíèek, Policy Vice-President and Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, UEAPME; President of the Czech Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Crafts (AMSP), Prague
• Dr Wolfgang Heusel, Director, Academy of European Law, Trier
• Professor Duncan Matthews, Chair in Intellectual Property Law, Queen Mary, University of London
• Dominique Ménard, Partner, Hogan Lovells International LLP, Paris
• Dr Jochen Pagenberg, Partner, Bardehle Pagenberg, Munich
• Dr Tony Tangena, President, European Patent Institute (EPI), Munich
• Dr Pierre Treichel, Lawyer, International Legal Affairs, PCT, European Patent Office (EPO), Munich
• Professor emeritus Hanns Ullrich, Gräfelfing
• Pierre Véron, Partner, Véron et associés, Paris

* to be confirmed