HLK’s Post

Only a week to go until our UPC experts share their top tips from using the Unified Patent Court, but don’t worry, there is still time to register!    Don’t miss this opportunity to hear first-hand experiences of UPC proceedings to help you prepare for your own actions at the UPC.    Matthew Howell, Greg Ward and Jamie Rowlands will join host Sanjeet Plaha to discuss recurring themes they’ve identified from delving into decided cases and examining the approaches taken by the UPC and lessons learned from these cases and their own experiences.     They’ll be giving pointers on...    ❓ The need for efficiency in the UPC – what are the pitfalls and when might it work in your favour?  ❓ Added subject matter – what does the UPC’s approach mean for you?  ❓ How is the UPC assessing inventive step?    ...And much more!     📅 Wednesday 11 September 2024     🕒13:30-14:30 GMT | 14:30-15:30 BST | 15:30-16:30 CEST       🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dvu-Tnry #UPCExperts #UnifiedPatentCourtExperiences #UPC #UnifiedPatentCourt #UPCLitigation 

What have our experts experienced and what are their top tips from using the Unified Patent Court? You can find out in our next webinar, taking place on Wednesday 11 September.    Matthew Howell, Greg Ward and Jamie Rowlands join host Sanjeet Plaha to discuss recurring themes they’ve identified from delving into decided cases and examining the approaches taken by the UPC and lessons learned from these cases and their own experiences. They’ll be giving pointers on...    ❓ The need for efficiency in the UPC – what are the pitfalls and when might it work in your favour?  ❓ Added subject matter – what does the UPC’s approach mean for you?  ❓ How is the UPC assessing inventive step?    ...And much more! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear our experts’ first-hand experience of UPC proceedings to help you prepare for actions at the UPC.    📅 Wednesday 11 September 2024     🕒13:30-14:30 GMT | 14:30-15:30 BST | 15:30-16:30 CEST       🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dvu-Tnry #UPCExperts #UnifiedPatentCourtExperiences #UPC #UnifiedPatentCourt #UPCLitigation 

There’s still time to register to join our UPC experts on Wednesday 11 September to hear about their experiences and top tips from using the Unified Patent Court! Join host Sanjeet Plaha, Matthew Howell, Greg Ward and Jamie Rowlands as they discuss recurring themes they’ve identified from delving into decided cases and examining the approaches taken by the UPC, and lessons learned from these cases and their own experiences. They’ll be giving pointers on... ❓ The need for efficiency in the UPC. What are the pitfalls and when might it work in your favour? ❓ Added subject matter – what does the UPC’s approach mean for you? ❓ How is the UPC assessing inventive step? ...And much more! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear our experts’ first-hand experience of UPC proceedings to help you prepare for actions at the Unified Patent Court. 📅 Wednesday 11 September 2024 🕒13:30-14:30 GMT | 14:30-15:30 BST | 15:30-16:30 CEST 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dvu-Tnry #UPCExperts #UnifiedPatentCourtExperiences #UPC #UPCUnpacked #UPCInsider

For anyone interested in hearing some top tips and lessons learnt from first-hand experience of using the Unified Patent Court, read on! In our webinar on 11 September (next week!) my HLK colleagues and I will share our insights relating to #UPC proceedings. The webinar is intended to help you prepare for actions at the UPC and guide your own strategy.   We’ll discuss recurring themes we’ve identified from examining court decisions thus far along with lessons learnt from our own experiences, covering:   ◾ The need for efficiency in the UPC – what are the pitfalls and when might it work in your favour? ◾ Added subject matter – what does the UPC’s approach mean for you? ◾ How is the UPC assessing inventive step? ◾ UPC litigation – top tips!   Join me and my colleagues Matthew Howell, Jamie Rowlands, with our host Sanjeet Plaha, for the webinar, which will take place on 11 September at 14.30 BST.   Full information and how to register can be accessed via this link 👇. https://lnkd.in/egg67_xE   #UPCUnpacked #UPCProceedings #UnifiedPatentCourt #UPCLitigation

See below for the latest insights from our UPC experts as UPC Unpacked: Issue 5 is out now! This month you’ll find a deep dive into the UPC’s first decided cases, its caseload and which aspects of the new system are proving popular, and an overview of ongoing SEP and FRAND disputes, pulling out key trends. Our experts’ valuable insights can help inform your own UPC litigation strategy.

The Unified Patent Court #UPC has discretion to stay proceedings awaiting any relevant decision from the European Patent Office #EPO. The Court has recently (20 November) given an indication as to the circumstances under which such a stay will be granted. A stay will be granted "provided such decision [i.e. of the Opposition Division] is expected rapidly." There should be a concrete expectation (i.e. a known date in time) for a decision which date should be in the near future such that it is clearly expected to be delivered before an expected decision by the UPC. A decision of the EPO expected in 3 months' time was not deemed sufficiently rapid by the UPC, and a stay was denied. https://lnkd.in/efNKQ8P9

Well worth a read for those wanting an overview of the first twelve months since the Unified Patent Court opened it’s doors. It’s been a very positive start and we’re looking forward to big things in the coming year! #unifiedpatentcourt #upc #patents #patentlitigation #happybirthday

Before the Unified Patent Court (#UPC) came into effect, there was much speculation as to how it would approach preliminary injunctions. Would it be very pro-patentee and issue preliminary injunctions easily, or more conservative? HLK’s Matthew Howell gives his verdict in his latest 2-minute video, takeaway no. 3 in our six-part series that looks beyond the data to draw out key messages from the first six months of the UPC.   For a more in-depth exploration into the messages emerging from the Court’s first six months of activity, read Matthew’s article here: https://bit.ly/48cTAnH   His next takeaway, no. 4, will be shared on Tuesday 19 December.   #UnifiedPatentCourt #PatentFiling #HLK

There is hardly a more important topic for UPC and EPO opposition proceedings than Auxiliary Requests. The only scenario where they don't play a role in UPC litigation and EPO opposition proceedings are the rather rare cases when the patent is upheld as granted! So what is the state of play at the UPC (at the EPO, the situation is clear)? It's still a black box to a large extent but certain things are clear: 1) Front-loaded means front-loaded also for Auxiliary Requests; 2) In UPC central revocation proceedings, the Interim Conference is more case management than "providing guidance on the merits" (thus, the patentee will not learn how the UPC assesses his Auxiliary Requests at the IC); 3) There is no magic number for the "reasonable number" of amendments pursuant to R.30.1 -RoP but: the UPC is likely not adopting the German approach where everything is reasonable unless there is an abuse of process. A big thank you to András Kupecz, Bernard Ledeboer, Bernhard Müller for the inspiring panel discussion guided perfectly by Leythem Wall today at the EPLIT - European Patent Litigators Association meeting in Stockholm. #ThinkUPC #ThinkIP

Must-see if you are into patent litigation. This is how the UPC works. As a panel of judges, you have only one or two days in court. You have to decide both on the revocation and the alleged infringement. This may sound familiar to Common Law lawyers in the UK, Singapore, and Nigeria. However, it is different in many other jurisdictions, including the US, China, and Germany. These jurisdictions run "bifurcated proceedings." One court looks into the revocation part, while another court looks into the alleged infringement part of the dispute. Sometimes, but not always, the two courts communicate with each other. In Germany, the national revocation court has very liberal revocation proceedings. This allows the defendant to present many claim sets in his defense. Each claim set represents a very nuanced scope of protection. The court has many options for deciding between fully revoking a patent and maintaining it with a limited scope of protection. Judges sometimes even help a defendant find a version of the patent claims that can survive the revocation action. This is good for the defendant but bad for the plaintiff. It can be good or bad for the judges, adding extra complexity to the case. That liberal bifurcation perspective is different in UPC proceedings. I believe this encourages settlements of ongoing disputes, rather than driving litigation issues through. And that leads to the next question: how to settle patent infringement disputes? Lawyers need to aquire business knowledge to facilitate that.