Join Claire Phipps-Jones, Richard Pinckney and Gregory Bacon as they reflect and share insights on the first two years of the UPC.

Topics include the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the UPC, local flavours and harmonisation and thoughts on cross-border claims post BSH v Electrolux and Fujifilm v Kodak.

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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In episode 10 of You, me & the UPC, Charlie French and Sam Harvey look at life in the UPC following the CJEU’s decision in BSH v Electrolux (C-339/22), which marked a significant shift in the approach to jurisdiction for patent disputes in Europe. 

They discuss the UPC case law since that decision was handed down in February 2025, including IMC Creations v Mul-T-Lock, Dainese v Alpinestars, Genevant and Arbutus v Moderna, Seoul Viosys v Laser Components and Hurom v NUC Electonics, and look ahead to what this might mean for patent litigation in the UPC and national courts in future.

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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In this collaboration between our FRANDly Chat and You, me & the UPC podcasts, our experts, Naomi Hazenberg, Richard Pinckney and Francion Brooks, bring you a discussion on the first substantive FRAND decision of the UPC in Panasonic v Oppo.

Find our other FRANDly Chat episodes here and our other You, me & the UPC episodes here.

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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In our 8th episode, Charlie French and Aida Tohala explore some of the recent decisions from the UPC exploring the boundaries of the court’s jurisdiction. These cases deal with questions including:

• Does the UPC have jurisdiction over countries that have signed the UPC Agreement, but not yet ratified it?
• How to decide whether to stay UPC proceedings when parallel litigation is ongoing at the EPO or nationally?
• Is it only national litigation commenced during the UPC transitional period that can lead to a stay of UPC proceedings?”

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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In this episode of You, me and the UPC, Charlie French and Naomi Hazenberg are joined by Eden Winlow to discuss the regime for protecting trade secrets and other confidential information in the UPC. The team cover decisions from the Dusseldorf Local Division in 10x Genomics v Curio and Fujifilm v Kodak, the Hague Local Division in Plant-e v Arkyne and the Paris Local Division in C-Kore v Novawell. Finally, the conversation turns to some practical points that have arisen from the discussion of the protection of confidential material in other cases.

Note: This episode was recorded before the protective orders in Dolby v HP (Dusseldorf Local Division) and Dish &Sling TV v Aylo (Mannheim Local Division) were made on 22 July 2024. In Dolby, the intervening pool administrator, Access Advance, was allowed the same level of access to confidential documents as the parties to the case. In Dish & Sling, three of the claimant’s employees were granted access to information on how the defendant’s products functioned. In addition, in its recent order in the Oerlikon v Himson case, the Milan Local Division has followed the approach of the German Local Divisions and refused to restrict access in a manner that would exclude all of the defendant’s employees.  

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In this episode of You, me & the UPC, Charlie French and Naomi Hazenberg cover the eight UPC preliminary injunction (PI) decisions to date. They discuss the legal points that have emerged from the various inter partes PI decisions, including the Court of Appeal decision in 10x Genomics v NanoString and the recent decision from the Düsseldorf Local Division in 10x Genomics v Curio, as well as ex parte PIs and the impact of filing a protective letter in the UPC.

Note: the UPC Court of Appeal’s decision in Vusion Group SA (formerly SES-imagotag SA) v Hanshow was published on 13 May 2024, shortly after this episode was recorded. The Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision of the Munich Local Division to refuse the preliminary injunction request but did not address the question of whether the file wrapper should be consulted when construing patent claims (one of the open questions discussed in this episode).

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In our fifth episode of You, me & the UPC, our patent litigation experts, Naomi Hazenberg and Charlie French, cover the early cases regarding access to documents, transparency of UPC decision-making and the application of Rule 262.1(b) of the UPC Rules of Procedure.

Note: This episode was recorded before the Court of Appeal hearing in Ocado v AutoStore on 12 March, which was attended by Gregory Bacon. The Court of Appeal indicated at the hearing that it would issue its decision as soon as possible - we will report the outcome when the decision is available.

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In our fourth episode of You, me & the UPC, our patent litigation experts, Naomi Hazenberg and Charlie French, cover the early statistics and trends emerging from the first eight months of the UPC.

They explore:

• The uptake of the new unitary patent, top unitary patent proprietors and choice of language for unitary patents.
• The number of classic European patents being opted out of the UPC system…and back in again.
• An overview of the early cases and the various technologies involved.
• Choice of venue and language of proceedings for infringement and revocation actions.

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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In our third episode of You, me & the UPC, our patent litigation experts, Naomi Hazenberg, Charlie French and Gregory Bacon, discuss the jurisdiction provisions of the UPC Agreement and the question of long-arm jurisdiction beyond UPC territories.

 They explore:

•  Which cases can be brought in the UPC?
• Does a patentee have to bring a claim for infringement in all territories?
• Why are there different divisions? Which division(s) will have jurisdiction in each case? Is the scope of relief different in the various divisions?
• Can UPC decisions take effect outside the UPC? What are the consequences for any long-arm jurisdiction?

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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In our second episode of You, me & the UPC, our patent litigation experts, Charlie French and Naomi Hazenberg, provide further insights and early figures for the new UPC system, which opened its doors on 1 June 2023.

They explore:

• The different courts of the UPC: local and regional divisions, the Central Division and the Court of Appeal.
• The role of Milan in the re-formed Central Division.
• UPC judges and language of proceedings.
• The first cases – where they were filed and what we know so far.

Note: It was announced on 22 July 2023, shortly after this episode was recorded, that AutoStore and Ocado had reached a global settlement of their patent litigation claims. It is therefore expected that the UPC proceedings between Ocado and AutoStore that are referred to in this episode will now be withdrawn.

Looking for part 1? Find it here

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In our first episode of You, me & the UPC, our patent litigation experts, Naomi Hazenberg and Charlie French, provide an overview of the new UPC system, which opened its doors on 1 June 2023.

They explore:

• What does the UPC bring to the European patent litigation landscape?
• Which countries will participate in the UPC, now and in the future?
• Which patents are covered by the new system (and which are not)?
• Differences between the new unitary patent and “classic” European patents.
• The transitional period: opt-out strategies and early opt-out figures.

Looking for part 2? Find it here

Note: All information was correct at the time of recording.

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Find all the episodes as we release them here. Follow us on LinkedIn.