In the article “Non-practicing Entity Litigation at the UPC: A US Perspective,” lawyers David Schmidt, PhD and Zachary Grinovich explore recent developments at the Unified Patent Court that could impact U.S. companies with global intellectual property assets or operations in the European Union.
As the UPC nears the end of its second year, the authors write, “its broad injunctive powers have enticed non-practicing entities (NPEs) to avail themselves of the forum.” Throughout the article, they examine several landmark decisions from the UPC’s first year related to injunctions. They note potential key differences between NPE litigation in the U.S. and before the UPC, including that NPEs may not need to demonstrate monetary damage and irreparable harm to secure a provisional junction from the UPC.
Dr. Schmidt and Mr. Grinovich analyze how this and other trends could potentially provide advantage to NPEs who bring infringement claims before the UPC. In this vein, they discuss the UPC’s approach to patent validity, the speed of proceedings relative to U.S. patent proceedings, and the high incidence of permanent injunctions.
The authors conclude, “In view of these outcomes, we expect increased UPC-NPE activity in the coming years. Understanding the court’s emerging practices will be key to navigating this evolving legal environment.”
Read the full article here.
