The Unified Patent Court
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is changing how patents are litigated across Europe.
The UPC currently covers 18 European countries (a market of more than 300 million consumers), and provides an alternative to litigating patents separately in individual national proceedings.
This allows patent owners to obtain Europe-wide injunctions (and damages) through a single set of proceedings, but it also carries the risk of having patents revoked with Europe-wide effect.
The UPC runs in parallel with existing national systems for an initial period of seven years from the opening of the UPC in 2023 (which can be extended). During this period patent owners have the option of opting their patents out of the jurisdiction of the UPC. In the first 18 months of the introduction of the mechanism, over half a million patents were opted out.
Newly granted patents can also be opted into the exclusive jurisdiction of the UPC by being granted as “unitary patents”. This option has been popular with patentees; unitary protection was requested for over 28% of European patents granted in 2025 and the trend is continuing in 2026.
The UPC has changed the tactics and economics driving the behaviour of litigants.
Our cross-border patent litigation teams at Freshfields have acted on numerous UPC cases on both Claimant and Defendant side, including infringement actions, central revocation actions, appeals and re-hearings. Our team has in depth knowledge of the different local divisions, central divisions, Court of Appeal and the judges at each.
As a firm, we’re ideally placed to help you strategically navigate the UPC to achieve your commercial goals.
