European Patent Law : The Unified Patent Court and the European Patent Convention

This book provides a comprehensive overview of European Patent Law. It presents a critical analysis of the European patent law system and the proposed changes to it. The book explores the strengths and weaknesses of the European Patent Convention, and the interaction between the national and the European level, as well as across borders. Gives an indepth and comprehensive overview of the European patent law system. Offers a timely and important study on the new unified patent court. Shows the interaction between national and European level and cross-border elements. Foreword 5 Preface 7 Table of contents 9 List of contributors 23 Introduction 25 Part 1: The existing system: the EPC 33 1 The role of EPO Boards of Appeal in shaping of patent law in Europe 33 2 The interaction between the UPC, national courts, and the EPO Boards of Appeal 49 3 Cross-border patent litigation under the EPC 59 4 Plausibility: a route to stronger and more robust patents? 75 5 Wrongful preliminary injunctions and EU procedural law 91 6 Proportionality and patent injunctions 111 Part 2: The European Patent with unitary effect and the Unified Patent Court 129 7 The novelty and inventive step requirement in Europe and under the UPP 129 8 Exceptions and limitations (27 UPCA) 141 9 Patent Arbitration under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court 161 10 Supplementary Protection Certificates (Article 30) 185 11 Liability for infringement of EU law 201 12 Regulation 542/2014 on jurisdiction 217 13 Exclusive jurisdiction and competence 229 14 Constitutional aspects of the Unitary Patent Package (UPP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) – question marks remain 237 15 Trusting the Unified Patent Court: the importance of the institutional design of the UPC and its judges 253 16 The EPO within the Unitary Patent System 267 17 The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union 283 18 Rules of procedure of the UPC, a judge’s perspective 319 19 The user in the UPC 333 20 Unified Patent Court and international law 347 21 The patent with unitary effect and competition law 371 22 A system fit for innovation? Part I: (Dis-)incentives for potential patentees in the UP legal framework 387 23 A system fit for innovation? Part II: (Dis-)advantages for follow-on inventors in the UP legal framework 405 24 Patent mediation 429 25 Litigation strategies and bifurcation 443 26 Patent litigation strategies in Germany: maneuvering the evolving landscape of bifurcation 455 Part 3: Co-existence and alternatives 481 27 The co-existence between EPC and patents with unitary effect 481 28 Institutional coexistence: the necessity of judicial dialogue and cooperation in the UPC 495 29 The role of the CJEU in European patent law from a procedural perspective 509 30 Gene patents in the EPC and the European patent with unitary effect 529 31 Decision-makers, institutional influences and the role of ethical issues in the patenting of biotechnological inventions in Europe: enter the unitary patent system 549 32 The UPC and the FRAND injunction 565 Index 589