After careful consideration, you decided not to pursue the Unitary Patent route and instead chose to validate your European patent in a number of countries for which you could have selected for Unitary Patent.
It is important, however, to note that if you do not Opt Out, your European patent will still fall under the jurisdiction of the UPC, even though your European patent is validated in several countries for which you could have selected for Unitary Patent. Therefore any court decisions will still apply across all Contracting Member States, irrespective of whether you selected for a Unitary Patent or not.
By way of an example, if a European patent is validated in France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden, and the applicant DID NOT Opt Out of the UPC, then any infringement or validity matters affecting just one of these countries will be brought before the UPC. The resulting decision will have a collective impact on all four countries.
The good news is that if legal proceedings have not yet begun, you can still opt out of the UPC at any time within the next seven years, this could possibly be extended to 14 years. Additionally, if you decide it is strategically beneficial, it is possible to withdraw the Opt Out at a later date.
If you would like BIG IP & Legal Solutions to conduct a FREE check to see if your patent has been Opted out of the Unified Patent Court then please contact me at [email protected].
Important Note: The above summarised content is for information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be taken as a definitive statement of the law. If you require legal guidance, BIG IP & Legal Solutions recommend that you consult a qualified patent attorney.
