The first annual report since the Unified Patent Court came into effect at the start of June 2023 has been published. The report provides key insights into the Court's activities, cases and key developments within its first year. We explore the report in this article and look forward to what's coming next.
The UPC has been busy from the go, receiving 633 filed actions between its very first day and 31 December 2024. The Munich Local Division saw the highest amount of infringement action, with 53 infringement cases lodged in 2024. The Paris Central Division had 21 revocation action cases lodged in 2024, the highest of all the courts. The busiest months for the UPC in 2024 were June, July and December.
The high number of cases has allowed the court to start building a consistent body of case law; several key decisions are helpfully summarised in the annual report.
Due to the increasing caseload, judges saw their hours increase along with additional recruitment rounds in 2023 and 2024 to expand the pool of judges. The number of technically qualified judges increased from 68 to 75 from 2023 to 2024. The amount of legally qualified judges also increased, rising from 35 to 41 in the same period. The report emphasises the prioritisation of judicial training and the Court's aim to harmonise workload distribution across the divisions.
The average timescale for closing cases varied by type. Infringement actions took an average of 405 days, while revocation actions were typically resolved in 383 days. Claimants in Denmark, France and the US were the most active, while the most common defendants were from Japan, the US and Denmark.
Looking forward, the UPC is planning significant improvements to accessibility and procedural efficiency. In partnership with the European Patent Office, the Court aims to launch a new case-management system by mid-2025 to improve transparency of the registry and streamline digital case handling. The establishment of a Patent Mediation and Arbitration centre is also on the cards, along with continued efforts to recruit and train staff to maintain operational.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.