Shortly before its start, the Presidium of the UPC has decided to split the competences for the technical fields formerly envisioned for a London branch of the Central Division.
As of June 1, 2023, all cases brought before the Central Division relating to patents on:
- Human necessities (IPC section A, which covers e.g., health, agriculture, foods, tobacco, etc.) shall be dealt with by the Paris seat;
- Chemistry, metallurgy (IPC section C) will be assigned to the Munich section.
This long-awaited decision provides a provisional assignment until a final decision on the establishment of another seat of the Central Division will be reached by the Administrative Committee of the UPC. Originally London was the place where those cases were supposed to be heard (Art. 7(2) in conjunction with Annex II of the UPC-Agreement). After Brexit it had been unclear how the UPC would handle this. Milan was discussed as potential successor of the Central Division's London seat. It remains to be seen how this will develop in the future.
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