EU patent system: unitary patent and patent court (Part II)

The article examines the organizational, and economic and legal aspects of the creation of a specialized Unified Patent Court (hereinafter referred to as the UPC), endowed with exclusive jurisdiction to hear all cases of infringement and invalidation of classical European patents and unitary patents (unitary patents) in the Unified Patent System of the EU, the functioning of which is regulated by the Unified Patent Court Agreement. The structural structure, competences, procedural and financial provisions that determine the activities of the UPC, institutional and procedural means of combating the abuse of patent rights, in particular, patent trolls, are analyzed. The activities of the UPC during 2024 are characterized. The claims filed with the UPC cover a wide range of technologies, with the information and communication technologies sector leading in terms of their number, followed by medical technologies and consumer goods. Although there are fewer cases in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, those that are considered are part of significant international disputes. Considering the decisions taken by the UPC in the consideration of patent disputes in its first year of operation, it is believed that the UPC has already established itself as an institution that makes reasoned or mainly reasoned decisions. The UPC Court of Appeal has clarified its position on many of the significant issues of substantive law that will be taken in the consideration of disputes.