09.00 hrs
Registration and morning coffee
09.30 hrs
Opening, welcome and short introduction by the Chairman: Wouter Pors, Partner Bird & Bird
09.40 hrs
The Unified Patent Court – State of Implementation
- Brief history from idea to implementation of the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court (main features of the ‘Unitary Patent Package’, why took it so long?)
- What is the status and when will be the expected introduction date?
- Courts: latest developments of the Unified Patent Court
– Which city will get the Central division of London after Brexit?
– Local and regional divisions, fees
– Patent Litigation Certificate
– Sunrise register
– IT system - Judges: selection and training
- Unitary Patent: latest developments on the practical issues, implementing rules & costs/fees
Johannes Karcher, Vice Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Unified Patent Court and Coordinator Legal Affairs
10.15 hrs
Unitary Patents and European Patents: substantive law issues
- The principle of unitary effect
- Differences between UP’s and EP’s
- Advantages and possible disadvantages of a Unitary Patent
- Advantages and possible disadvantages of an opt-out
Bas Pinckaers, Head Patent Department, Van Doorne
10.50 hrs
Coffee break
11.10 hrs
The Unified Patent Court, the national courts, forum shopping, torpedo’s and pre-emptive strikes
- Prepare your portfolio and your strategy for t he new opportunities and challenges
- Combining litigation at the UPC and the national courts
- Pre-emptive strikes when the court opens; clearing the path, blocking opting out or opting in
- The divisions of the Court, their locations, languages and “couleur locale”
- Coordination, bifurcation, stays and speed of proceedings
- Preliminary injunctions, seizure of evidence, ex parte measures
- How to plan your litigation and deal with the judgerapporteur
Wouter Pors, Partner Bird & Bird
11.45 hrs
Panel of Judges – Visions from the Bench
Interviews with Judges regarding the Unitary Patent and the UPC:
Sam Granata, Judge, Court of Appeal of Antwerp (Belgium), Judge, Court of Appeal, Antwerp & Judge at the Benelux Court of Justice and and External Legal Member, Enlarged Boards of Appeal EPO.
Rian Kalden, Senior Judge, Court of Appeal of The Hague (NL) and Judge at the Benelux Court of Justice
Dr. Peter Tochtermann, Presiding Judge, Regional Court of Mannheim, Patent Chamber (Germany)
12:15 hrs
Panel of in-house patent attorneys
Visions of and interviews with in-house patent attorneys regarding the Unitary Patent and the UPC In-house patent attorneys will be announced soon.
Carreen Shannon, Head of Litigation, Data and IP, Legal & Compliance Department, ASML
Frank Landolt, Chief Counsel IP and Legal, Confo Therapeutics (biopharmaceutical start-up_Belgium)
Thierry Sueur, former Vice President, European and International Affairs, Air Liquide (France)
12:45 hrs
Lunch
13.45 hrs
Rules of Procedure for the Unified Patent Court; the final phase
- Publication of the final version Rules of Procedure: when
and what are the last adjustments? - The training of both Legally Qualified and Technically
Qualified Judges for the Court - More?
Kevin Mooney, Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the Rules of Procedure for the UPC and Partner at Simmons & Simmons LLP
14.20 hrs
Preparing the last steps of the implementation of the Unitary Patent by the EPO and Member States
- Overview of the implementation measures decided by the
Select Committee and the EPO - Recent Rule changes and transitional measures decided
recently by the EPO in order to facilitate an early up-take
of the Unitary Patent
Jérôme Debrulle, Chairman of the EP0´s Select Committee dealing with the implementation of the Unitary Patent.
15.00 hrs
Coffee and tea break
15.10 hrs
Round table discussions
15.10 – PART 1 (50 minutes)
16.10 – PART 2 (50 minutes)
The Round Table discussions are an opportunity for the participants to get together in an informal setting to duscuss issues from their working area point of view as they relate to the Unitary Patent Package. Choose your main themes:
Round tables
1: Rules of Procedure – the final version and the training of Judges
- The last important changes of the Rules of Procedure
- Vital issues discussed at the consultation of fees
- The training of both Legally Qualified and Technically Qualified Judges of the Court
Table Chair:
Kevin Mooney, Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the Rules of Procedure for the Unified Patent Court and Partner of Simmons & Simmons LLP
2: Considerations for obtaining and maintaining patents in the new UP era
- What has changed: Evaluation of the EP and UP alternatives
- The new Europe: Protecting the core and the fringes
- Future proof strategy: how will changes to the UP/EP membership affect your decisions?
Table Chair:
Paul Clarkson, UK Patent Attorney litigator and European Patent
Attorney, partner NLO
3: Forum shopping between various local and regional divisions, language regime and experience
- Where will the UPC Divisions be, what will they look like, who will be
the judges and which languages will be available? - Could you be sued in a language that you don’t understand?
- Do you want cross-examination of experts?
- How do you select the forum that is best for your case?
Table Chair:
Wouter Pors, Partner, Bird & Bird
4: If you would like to contribute to the conference with a Round Table topic?
Please contact Irene van der Zwan, conference producer,
+31648088846.