The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is a hot topic currently. It is a court set up to decide in particular on the infringement and validity of both so-called Unitary Patents and classic European Patents. The UPC is a Court common to currently seventeen EU Member States for which the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) will enter into force on 1 June 2023.
However, the Unified Patent Court is not as unified as its name might suggest. Some EU member states are missing, i.e. Spain, Poland and Croatia. Further, many EPC member states were bullied merely because they are not EU-member states, e.g. Norway, Iceland, Türkiye, Switzerland and the quitter U.K.
While we have all been quite infatuated with and blinded by the UPC’s sunrise period over the last months, the forgotten countries have in fact been paving the way for another pan-European court, i.e. the Alternative Patent Court (APC). An ad-hoc commission of all stakeholders had been formed, clandestinely referred to as the Alternative for Europe (AfE). In addition to English, Esperanto was agreed as the second offical language of the APC — which helped to resolve the perennial language issues. (On a sidenote, Alice Weidel was apparently not amused when she became aware that the AfD has lost their perceived monopoly on alternatives of all kind.)
The APC will be a court common to all countries highlighted in the header image. It will deal in particular with validity and infringement of the so-called Alternative Patents.
Rumour has it that the Central Division of the APC shall be located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, at the premises of the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) where the FPC holds its hearings. I noticed only last night that the FAC has already been equipped with a corresponding signage:
Exciting times ahead. Stay tuned!
✍ MW
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