LISBON LOCAL DIVISION Law and Practice Contributed by: Joana Piriquito Santos, Beatriz Lima and Sara Nazaré, NLP
The development of case law ‒ particularly in areas such as the FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) framework for Stand - ard Essential Patents (SEPs), as well as biotech - nology – will also influence the attractiveness and reliability of the UPC as a long-term dispute resolution mechanism. 6.3 The Future of National Patent Litigation National patent litigation will continue to play a relevant role in Portugal, particularly in the fol - lowing areas: • infringement and validity of national patents or European patents that have been opted out of the UPC; • infringement and validity of national patents; • border measures and customs enforcement related to patents; • administrative and criminal offences in rela - tion to patents; and • obtaining means of evidence. While the UPC is attracting increasing attention, national litigation may still be the preferred route in cases where costs, procedural familiarity or strategic considerations favour local enforce - ment. Additionally, the rise of new IP strategies may prompt a renewed interest in national patents, especially in sectors or jurisdictions where tai - lored protection and flexibility are valued. This could lead to a moderate resurgence of national patent filings and litigation in parallel with UPC proceedings. The authors anticipate continued interaction between national and UPC case law in the com -
ing years. This may contribute to the develop - ment of a more harmonised litigation environ - ment across Europe. 6.4 Improvements to the UPC A key improvement in the future functioning of the UPC would be to encourage a more bal - anced distribution of cases across the various local and regional divisions. At present, a sig - nificant proportion of cases are concentrated in only a few divisions. Although this may reflect initial user preferences and familiarity, it limits the development of a truly representative and diverse body of UPC case law. A broader geographical spread of decisions would help ensure that the emerging jurispru - dence reflects not only a variety of technical and legal perspectives, but also the rich diversity of legal traditions and judicial reasoning within the EU. To further improve the efficiency and predict - ability of the UPC system, the authors suggest: • improving the accessibility and usability of the Content Management System (CMS) plat - form, which is already underway; and • encouraging transparency through the publi - cation of orders and decisions, all translated at least into English, to ensure equal access to information ‒ a crucial factor in the con - struction of the UPC as a truly European forum (in the future, more translations could be considered, as per the ECJ). Greater stakeholder engagement and user feed - back mechanisms could also support the UPC’s institutional development.
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