europe‘s new unitary patent system · 3/2/2016 · which should make the unitary patent system...
TRANSCRIPT
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Michael Platzöder Partner, German and European Patent Attorney
March 2, 2016
EUROPE‘S NEWUNITARY PATENT SYSTEM
A Brief Overview
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① THE CURRENT CLASSICAL EP-PATENT SYSTEM
② THE NEW EP UNITARY PATENT SYSTEM
③ KEY ASPECTS OF THE NEW SYSTEM
④ STRATEGIC AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
OVERVIEW
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①THE CURRENT „CLASSICAL“ EP-PATENT SYSTEM
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MAIN ASPECTS OF THE CLASSICAL EP-PATENT
Today, the EP-Patent is “unitary” only during Examination and Opposition but effectively disassembles into a “bundle” of national patents thereafter
Filing & Examination
Central before EPO
3 alternative languages
of proceeding
(EN, DE, FR)
Post-grant validation
and renewal country by
country
Opposition &Appeal
Central before EPO
Revocation/limitation
effective for all
designated countries
Enforce-ment
Country by Country
Invali-dation
Country by Country
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REMAINING SHORTCOMINGS OF THE EP-PATENT
While compared to the pre-EPC situation, the EP-Patent has radically simplified obtaining patent protection in Europe, some key drawbacks remained:
High costs &
Fragmentation
Translations
(partially reduced by London Agreement)
Validations & Renewals
Enforcement
Invalidation
(post Opposition)
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②THE NEW EUROPEAN PATENT WITH UNITARYEFFECT („UNITARY PATENT“)
Spain
Participating EU countries, no ratification yet of UPC –Agrmt.
Non-participating EU countries(ES, HR)
Poland(still needs to sign UPC
agreement )
Non-EU but EPC-member
states, may notparticipate
Participating EU countries, UPC –Agrmt. ratified
Croatia
Source of image: Wikipedia
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THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK DEFINING THE NEW “EUROPEAN PATENT WITH UNITARY EFFECT”
Council Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2012 * regarding creation of unitary patent protection
Council Regulation (EU) No. 1260/2012 * regarding applicable translation arrangements
Agreement on Unified Patent Court (UPC) **
Rules of Procedure for Unified Patent Court **
* Implementing Enhanced Co-operation within EU** Multi-lateral Treaty, signed but not fully ratified yet
Competition policy in Europe
The competition rules for supply and distribution agreements
EuropeanCommission
Competition DG’s address on the world wide web:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/competition/index_en.htm
Europa competition web site:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/index_en.html
OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONSOF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
L-2985 Luxembourg
ISBN 92-894-3905-X
9 789289 439053
8K
D-42-02-997-EN
-C
Competition policy in Europe
The competition rules for supply and distribution agreements
EuropeanCommission
Competition DG’s address on the world wide web:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/competition/index_en.htm
Europa competition web site:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/index_en.html
OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONSOF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
L-2985 Luxembourg
ISBN 92-894-3905-X
9 789289 439053
8K
D-42-02-997-EN
-C
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THE BASIC IDEA BEHIND THE UNITARY PATENT
Lower costs &
No Fragmentation
No Translations
(1 translation during transistional period)
Central Renewal at EPO @ lower
fees,No Validations
UnitaryEnforcement
@ UPC
Unitary Invalidation
@ UPC
(post opposition)
UPC = newly established „Unitary Patent Court“
Lowerlitigationcost per country
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THE LIFECYCLE OF A UNITARY PATENT
EP-patent application and prosecution • Filing and prosecution incl.
examination/opposition/revocation/limitation (+appeal) at EPO• Identical proceedings as for classical EP-patent
Request for unitary protection• to be filed with EPO by patent proprietor• in language of proceedings• within 1 month from publication of grant
Unitary effect• effective from date of grant, • Unitary patent replaces individual effects of the EP-Patent, but only
for states in which UPC-System is already effective at the time of the registration of the unitary effect for that patent !
Litigation exclusively before new UPC• esp. (Non-)Infringement and• (In-)Validity
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THE STRUCTURE OF THE UPC
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SCHEDULE OF INFRINGEMENT PROCEDINGS (1ST INST.), FAST (~ 14M) AND RATHER FIXED SCHEDULE
WrittenProceeding
• Lasts 9 months (planned schedule)• 2 briefs per party allowed, within fixed deadlines
IntermediateProceeding
• Lasts 3 months (planned schedule)• Exploration of settlement opportunies, incl. through mediation, and/or arbitration*• Clarification of issues, fix further schedule, prep. hearing of experts/witnesses, etc.• Intermediate conference, may be phone/video conference
Oral Hearing
• Lasts 1 day (planned schedule)• Focus on issues identified during intermediate procedure• Written court decision incl reasons within 6 weeks of oral hearing (planned schedule)
• 2nd instance: approx. 15 months• Revocation action (if separate): approx. 13 months
* At the UPC Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (located in Lisbon and Lijubljana)
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③ KEY ASPECTS OF THE UNITARY PATENT
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THE UNITARY EFFECT
The unitary patent provides uniform scope, protection and lifetime throughout the participating countries and takes effect upon publication of the grant.
Preconditions:
• Same claims for all countries
• Entry of unitary effect in official Register @ EPO upon prior request made within 1 month form grant
Uniform protection with equal effect in all particip. states*
Limitation, transfer, lapse and revocation, only as whole
Limitation and revocation effective ab initio (ex tunc)
BUT: Licensing as whole orwith territorial limitations
* Only those, for which UPC-System is already effective at the time of the registration of the unitary effect!
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LANGUAGES AND TRANSLATIONS
Basic concept: No more translations beyond language of proceedings (LOP), only granted claims must be translated into the 2 other official EPO-languages.
However: Exceptions apply during a transitional period and for disputes.
Transitional Period *
If LOP = EN:Translation into any
other official EUlanguage
If LOP = DE or FR:Translation into EN
Disputes
Infringement:At request of defendant:
translation into language of venue
of infringement or of defendant’s
domicile
At request of court:Translation into
language of court proceedings
* Lasts 6-12 years (tbd.) from the coming into force of the Unitary Patent system
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RENEWAL FEES - CONCEPT
Basic concept: unitary renewal fees administered and collected by the EPO
Renewal fees (annuities)Central collection
by EPO
Can only be paid by proprietor
Yearly, progressive fees, starting in year after grant
Level of fees = „True Top 4“
15% discount, if willingness to grant a license to anyone for
appropriate consideration was filed
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RENEWAL FEES -VALUES
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Europäisches Patent mit einheitlicher WirkungJahresgebühren des Einheitspatents – 1/5
• 24. Juni 2015: Ausschuss EPA-Verwaltungsrat („Select Committee“) einigt sich auf die sog. „True Top 4“-Alternative
• Dies bedeutet, dass die Höhe der addierten Jahresgebühren von DE, FR, GB und NL als Referenz verwendet wird
! Auf den ersten Blick attraktiv
0,00 €
1.000,00 €
2.000,00 €
3.000,00 €
4.000,00 €
5.000,00 €
6.000,00 €
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Vergleich der Jahresgebühren
DE, FR, GB
True Top 4 (DE,FR,GB,NL)
Patentjahr
Jahr
esge
bühr
en
Lifetime of Patent
Ren
ewal
fee
From a cost point of view, the unitary patent only becomes attractive, if protection for 4+ countries is desired, and during the transitional period costs for 1 translation even
comes on top (today for DE, GB and FR only translation of claims needed) !
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PRIVILEGES FOR SMEs AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
SMEs*, natural persons and certain non-profit organizations benefit from privileges which should make the unitary patent system easier, less costly and legally secure.
Damage claims:
court shall consider knowledge of infringement before provision of translation,esp. if infringer is a privileged entity
Compensation scheme:
reimbursement of costs of translation from any EU-language into LOP per Art. 14(2) EPC, up to ceiling
Privileges**
* SME: < 250 employees and (turnover< 50 M€ or balance sheet total ≦ 43 M€)** Privileged entities: SMEs , natural persons, non-profit organizations, universities and public research
organizations having their residence or principal place of business within a EU - Member State
Reduced court fees:
40% discount on 1st and 2nd instance court fees
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COST OF UPC LITIGATION
• Mix of fixed and value-dependent fees, • equal or lower than today‘s value-dependent court
fees in DE • 40% discount for qualifying SMEs
Court fees
• likely higher than in current DE litigation, because ofhigher complexity of proceeding (e.g. interimprocedure, more experts, questions of EU law) andmore agressive time limits
Attorney's cost
• Table of value-dependent defined ceilings, which maybe reduced on a case-by-case basis (if exceptionsapply)
• significantly higher than for current DE litigation
Recoverablecosts
(Looser pays)
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UNITARY PATENT AS AN OBJECT OF PROPERTY
The Unitary Patent is treated as object of property in its entirety and in all participating States as a national patent of the particip. state …
… in which is has unitary effect, and …
(a) … in which acc. to the EP Patent Register* the applicant has residence or principle place of business on the filing date,
(b) or, if (a) does not apply: in which applicant has residence or a place of business on the filing date.
For joint applicants: per (a) or (b) for the first applicant in the order of entry for whom (a) or (b) applies
If neither (a) nor (b) are applicable for
any applicant: State where EPO is headquartered(= Germany)
* Acquisition of a right may not be dependent on any entry in a national patent register
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EXHAUSTION
The unitary patent is subject to exhaustion within the EU. In contrast to the classic bundle EP-patent exhaustion is now explicitly codified.
Patent exhausted
Act concerning patented product in country/(ies) where unitary effect applies
Product was previously placed on the market in
EU …
… by or with consent of patent
proprietor
No legitimate grounds for proprietor to
oppose further commercialization
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④ STRATEGIC AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
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OPTIONS FOR PATENT PROTECTION IN EUROPE
Unitary patent in the participating EU
states
National patents and utility models
Classical EP bundle patent in all or subset of
38 EPC-countries
Unitary patent participating states + classical EP patent in other countries
Unitary patent in participating states + national patents in (selected) other countries
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THE PROS AND CONS OF THE UNITARY PATENT
Cost and uniform broad protection are the key factors in favor of the unitary patent, but “a single bullet kills the whole patent” and UPC-performance is still unknown
Pros Cons
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COMPETENT COURTS FOR EP-PATENT LITIGATION
UPC has exclusive jurisdiction for unitary and classical EP-patents! But during a transitional period of 7 years*, patentee can opt-out for classical EP-patents applied or granted prior to the end of this transitional period.
* might later be extended up to a total of 14 years
• UPC has exclusive jurisdictionUnitary patent:
• UPC has exclusive jurisdiction (but also national courts competent during transitional period)
• unless opt-out, then national courts retain exclusive competency for patent lifetime
Classical EP bundle patent:
• National courts have exclusive jurisdictionNational patents and utility models:
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Filing /nationalizing PCT
NATIONAL VS. EUROPEAN ROUTES TO PATENT PROTECTION IN EUROPE
...FR
GBDE
EP
National applications
EP-application
National patents(always national courts)
EP-Patent
...FR
GBDE
Prosecution Demand for Unitary effect? Opt-out?
EP
UP
EP“in”
EP“out”
EPMix*
PCT
PCT application(optional)
Unitary patent* Classical EP for non-UPC-members
UPC or** national courts competent
Only national courts competent
Grant
Opt-out
validation in non-UPC
Opt-in
Only UPC competent
** during transitional period only
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TODAY’S PATENT LITIGATION LANDSCAPE IN EUROPE
Germany is the dominating patent litigation venue in Europe for both national (DE) and classical European Patents (EP)• Fast and highly effective proven and well-known system• High quality specialized judges • Low cost compared esp. to US and GB• Patentee-friendly: injunctions available by law, and bifurcated system, where usually
validity decision is taken much later than infringement decision
source: Preliminary Findings of DG Internal Market and Services; Study on the Caseload and financing of the Unified Patent Court, 2011
Infringement DE GB FR Total
avg. cases/yr. 1133 108 224 1882
in % 60,2% 5,7% 11,9% 100%
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LOCK-IN EFFECT
For a classical EP-Patent or applications changing the court system is only possible, if no previous suit has been filed – otherwise a lock-in occurs!
1 e.g. infringement or counterclaim for infringement, revocation or declaration of non-infringement
No Opt-out Action1 filed@ UPC
Lock-in intoUPC-System
Opt-out Action1 filed @ national court
Lock-in intoNational-System
Risk: 3rd Party can lock you into one of thesystems, esp. into
UPC system
Counter-measure: use „sunrise period2“ to opt-out, before UPC-system fully
enters into force
2 Start date for sunrise period not announced yet
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KEY STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS
The UPC-System will likely become effective in 2017 (Plan). However, for patent holders, it is already now time to prepare !
Mine portfolio to identify classical EP-patents/applications to be opted-out:• e.g. per portfolio segment, per individual importance, or to have specific mix of UPC
and non-UPC patents in same portfolio segment• Prepare for opt-out during sunrise-period
As only patentee can opt-out: Negotiate opt-out with Co-owners/Licensorsfor classical EP-Patents without 100% ownership
Select pending EP-applications to become unitary patents and manage prosecution such that:• Grant occurs only after UPC-system is effective (otherwise unitary patent not possible)• Desired regional coverage at grant already includes all desired key states for protection• New/existing divisional applications allow for parallel coverage of UPC/classical paths
File national patents (esp. DE-patents) as viable alternative, esp. if coveragein DE already generates strong leverage
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DISCLAIMER
The materials of this presentation have been prepared solely foreducational and entertainment purposes to contribute to theunderstanding of European intellectual property law. They reflectonly the personal views of the author and are not individualizedlegal advice, in particular not for any specific legal situation or case.Thus, neither the author nor the Wallinger Ricker SchlotterTostmann Law Firm can be bound as representatives of their variouspresent and future clients or otherwise to the comments expressed inthese materials. The presentation of these materials does notestablish any form of attorney-client relationship with the author orthe Law Firm. While every attempt was made to ensure that thesematerials are accurate, errors or omissions may be contained therein,for which any liability is disclaimed.
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