The Unified Patent Court has the exclusive competence to hear patent invalidity actions for both European unitary patents and European patents that have not been opted-out of the UPC jurisdiction. We can successfully leverage our enviable success rate in opposition and appeal proceedings at the European Patent Office to directly represent clients before the UPC, whether contesting or defending commercially valuable patents.

The UPC is characterised by its relatively fast-paced proceedings. The court will aim to hear cases within 12 months and parties must state their case in full early in the proceedings. This approach to litigation requires agile representation and the ability to drill down to the important issues and technical complexities of a case swiftly. Revocation proceedings involve several rounds of written pleadings and culminate in an oral hearing at which a decision is handed down by the court. As would be expected, defences to revocation actions may include both an application to amend the patent or a counterclaim for patent infringement.

Revocation orders issued by the UPC have a unilateral effect. This means that the underlying unitary patent (or conventional European patent) will be invalidated in all designated member states. The UPC provides an additional option for centralised revocation proceedings throughout the term of a patent, and notably, upon expiry of the EPO opposition period. Our practical experience representing clients in contentious matters before the EPO means we are well placed to coordinate EPO opposition and appeal proceedings in parallel with patent revocation actions before the UPC.

Our UPC patent revocation related services include:

  • Direct client representation in revocation proceedings before the Central Division of the UPC
  • Filing and defending patent revocations actions
  • Advice concerning patent defence, validity and invalidation strategies
  • Coordinating parallel EPO opposition and appeal proceedings and UPC revocation actions

Guide to the Unified Patent Court (UPC)

Read our detailed guide to the UPC, including legal sources, jurisdiction, the opt-out, provisional application period, transitional period, UPC structure, where to start a case, transfer of actions between divisions and miscellaneous rules on choice of forum, languages, representation, judges, overview of proceedings, remedies, court fees and cost recovery, and relationship with opposition.

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Meet the team

Partners

David Alcock
David Alcock
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Anton Baker
Anton Baker
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Rachel Bateman
Rachel Bateman
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Robbie Berryman
Robbie Berryman
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Alan Boyd
Alan Boyd
Partner, Patent Attorney
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William Burrell
William Burrell
Partner, Patent Attorney
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James Cornford
James Cornford
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Jonathan DeVile
Jonathan DeVile
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Doug Ealey
Doug Ealey
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Kirk Gallagher
Kirk Gallagher
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Hanns-Juergen Grosse
Hanns-Juergen Grosse
Partner, Patent Attorney
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David Horner
David Horner
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Jonathan Jackson
Jonathan Jackson
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Lawrence King
Lawrence King
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Antony Latham
Antony Latham
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Darren Lewis
Darren Lewis
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Nicholas Malden
Nicholas Malden
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Connor McConchie
Connor McConchie
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Cathrine McGowan
Cathrine McGowan
Partner, Patent Attorney
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David Meldrum
David Meldrum
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Jennifer O'Farrell
Jennifer O'Farrell
Partner, Patent Attorney
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Senior Associates

Martin Bicker
Martin Bicker
Senior Associate, Patent Attorney
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Andrew Cockerell
Andrew Cockerell
Senior Associate, Patent Attorney
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Robert Kelly
Robert Kelly
Senior Associate, Patent Attorney
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Ryan Lacey
Ryan Lacey
Senior Associate, Patent Attorney
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Arun Roy
Arun Roy
Senior Associate, Patent Attorney
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Associates

David Al-Khalili
David Al-Khalili
Associate, Patent Attorney
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Ben Hunter
Ben Hunter
Associate, Patent Attorney
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Samuel Keyes
Samuel Keyes
Associate, Patent Attorney
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Mathias Smolarski
Mathias Smolarski
Associate, Patent Attorney
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Nathaniel Wand
Nathaniel Wand
Associate, Patent Attorney
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Stephanie Wroe
Stephanie Wroe
Associate, Patent Attorney
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Attorneys, Rechtsanwälte & Solicitors

Khalil Davis
Khalil Davis
Patent Attorney
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William Powell
William Powell
Patent Attorney
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Simon Schofield
Simon Schofield
Patent Attorney
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Samuel Smith
Samuel Smith
Patent Attorney
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Jessica Steven-Fountain
Jessica Steven-Fountain
Patent Attorney
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Nathan Turnbull
Nathan Turnbull
Patent Attorney
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Harry Ventress
Harry Ventress
Patent Attorney
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