MUNICH CENTRAL DIVISION Law and Practice Contributed by: Julia Traumann and Ulrich Blumenröder, Grünecker
Moreover, claimants may still favour German courts for a variety of reasons and strategic considerations. These include, for example, their speed – particularly in preliminary injunc - tion proceedings – as well as their extensive and predictable case law, their reputation for being patentee-friendly and their reluctance to apply proportionality assessments to injunctive relief as strictly as the UPC. Additionally, it appears that many companies, especially in sectors such as pharma and life sciences, remain cautious in their approach to the UPC. Overall, the authors believe that national pat - ent litigation in Germany will continue to play an important and enduring role. 6.4 Improvements to the UPC The UPC has enjoyed a very successful start since its launch in June 2023, quickly establish - ing itself as a central institution in the European patent litigation landscape. The UPC has han - dled a rapidly growing number of cases, with hundreds filed in its first year, and has been widely recognised for its efficient procedures, high-quality decisions, and the dedication of its judges and staff. This strong beginning has contributed to increased confidence among many patent holders and litigants, and the UPC is already playing a key role in harmonising pat - ent enforcement across the contracting member states and beyond (and not only due to its “long- arm jurisdiction”). Nevertheless, the authors take the liberty of making some suggestions for improvements to the UPC, as follows. Increase in Legal Certainty: Creating Even More Trust in the UPC Legal certainty is a core objective of the UPC, aiming to provide predictable, consistent out - comes for patent litigation across the contract - ing member states (and beyond). Actions that
could help increase legal certainty in the authors’ view include the following. • Harmonisation with EPO case law: The UPC appears to be increasingly aligning its approach, particularly regarding inventive step and added matter, with the EPO case law. The adoption of the EPO’s “problem- solution approach” for assessing inventive step is, from what the authors see, currently considered as a key measure to enhance legal certainty, as this method is objective and well-established among practitioners. • Ongoing case law development: As the UPC “matures”, its Court of Appeal will play a crucial role in clarifying and unifying legal standards, further increasing predictability for future cases. To enable the Court of Appeal to render decisions, litigants must first bring cases to the UPC, and then up to the Court of Appeal (ie, in particular, to not settle “too early”). Enhance Searchability and Accessibility to UPC Decisions and Orders The searchability and accessibility of deci - sions and orders on the UPC’s website could be improved. Current filtering is limited, and searching by means of keywords often does not return any useful results. Therefore, it is difficult for users to find the relevant case law, especial - ly as the caseload grows. Implementing more robust and user-friendly search functions would facilitate better access and, following from that, transparency and understanding. In this con - text, reducing delays in publishing decisions and orders to ensure timely access to information would also be welcome. Address CMS Issues The current CMS has been widely regarded as difficult to use and encountered various technical
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