1 April 2023 is the date set for the opening of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) as announced by the Preparatory Committee last week.

The Committee has also published an “implementation roadmap” indicating the date of 1 January 2023 for the start of the so-called “Sunrise period”, the three months during which the holders of European patents or European patent applications may request to exclude their rights (so-called “opting out”) from the jurisdiction of the UPC before the new court opens its doors. Read more about the opting out procedure here.

As specified in the official announcement, the published program could, however, still undergo changes as it is based on the current situation.

All our attorneys-at-law are qualified to represent clients before the new court. In addition we have joined forces with the European patent attorneys of Società Italiana Brevetti to create a UPC team, which offers the benefit of a cross-disciplinary approach in providing advice and assistance on both UPC and Unitary patent matters.