Last June 1 marked the first anniversary of the launch of the Unified Patent Court (YOUR P). And although it started with quite a few uncertainties regarding its acceptance and operation, it seems that it is overcoming some initial problems and that it is settling down little by little.
Its decisions have effect on the 17 member states participating in this agreement, which will soon be 18 with the incorporation of Romania. In this first year the TUP has initiated more than 370 cases, among them one as relevant as the one that affects the patent of the video arbitration system of football matches used by UEFA.
When the TUP was launched there were some doubts about its level of acceptance. Currently all of its divisions are already operational, although it is true that some have received very few cases or even none so far.
One of the reasons that it is not very active is that, although the holders of the lawsuits are aware of the TUP's ability to centrally revoke a patent and enforce it in the event of infringement, they sometimes feel more secure litigating before national courts.
Even so, it is foreseeable that the system will gradually establish itself, with quality decisions that will allow it to gain the trust of potential users, and that the technical problems initially detected will be solved. It would also be advisable to reinforce the offer of courses to better understand the court and its procedures.
To date, the technology sector with the most cases is related to electronic and electrical technologies, especially in infringement lawsuits. In contrast, companies in the pharmaceutical/chemical/bio sector are not as active as expected of them; The reason could be that they prefer to wait until the system is more established.
Another significant aspect is that the local division based in Munich accounts for a third of all cases presented. This may be due to the fact that the German courts have long and proven experience in this type of litigation, together with the fact that German is the language of 45% of the procedures opened so far.
The truth is that this concentration of cases in the Munich division represents a certain imbalance in the system, since it was conceived with the idea of being an international and decentralized court. Perhaps the opening of a section of the Central Division in Milan, scheduled for the end of this month, will help spread the game.
An important aspect to consider before initiating court action is financial: the reason is that both court fees and the costs of professional representatives and lawyers can be considerable.
Although our country is not part of the TUP agreement, there are Spanish companies that are involved in various processes, as defendants and as plaintiffs. In all cases, the TUP decisions are only valid for the participating countries, so they cannot be applied in Spain. For them to be valid in Spain, actions would have to be taken before the Spanish courts.
Thus, the Unified Patent Court It needs to be established so that potential users of the system begin to trust it more. The objective is that in the future it can become a real reference in Europe when it comes to taking legal action to protect the rights of patent holders.
Pedro Saturio, European Patent Attorney. Deputy Director of the Patent Department
