The long-awaited (more than 45 years) Unified Patent Court primarily for determination of matters of infringement and validity of European patents went live on June 01, 2023.
The Unified Patent Court has jurisdiction to hear matters of infringement and validity of European patents issued by the European Patent Organisation, an intra governmental organisation which is not part of the European Union.
The Court has locations in:
- Court of Appeal - Luxembourg
- Central divisions of the Court of First Instance - Paris, France and Munich, Germany
- Local Divisions of the Court of First Instance – Vienna, Austria; Brussels, Belgium; Copenhagen, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland; Paris, France; Düsseldorf, Germany; Hamburg, Germany; Mannheim, Germany; Munich, Germany, Milan, Italy, The Hague, the Netherlands; Lisbon, Portugal; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Stockholm, Sweden.
- Seat of the Nordic Baltic Regional Division - Stockholm, Sweden
- Places of hearing of the Regional Division – Riga, Latvia; Tallin, Estonia; Vilnius, Latvia
Overall, the Unified Patent Court spans across 19 cities in 16 states.
The official fee costs for the Unified Patent Court are as follows:
1. Fixed fees (Court of first instance)
| Procedure/action | Fixed fee | |
| Infringement action | 11,000€ | |
| Counterclaim for infringement | 11,000€ | |
| Action for declaration of noninfringement | 11,000€ | |
| Action for compensation for licence of right | 11,000€ | |
| Application to determine damages | 3,000€ |
2. Value-based fees (Court of first instance and Court of Appeal)
| Value of action | Additional value-based fee | |
| Up to and including €500,000 | €0 | |
| Up to and including €750,000 | €2,500 | |
| Up to and including €1 million | €4,000 | |
| Up to and including €1.5 million | €8,000 | |
| Up to and including €2 million | €13,000 | |
| Up to and including €3 million | €20,000 | |
| Up to and including €4 million | €26,000 | |
| Up to and including €5 million | €32,000 | |
| Up to and including €6 million | €39,000 | |
| Up to and including €7 million | €46,000 | |
| Up to and including €8 million | €52,000 | |
| Up to and including €9 million | €58,000 | |
| Up to and including €10 million | €65,000 | |
| Up to and including €15 million | €75,000 | |
| Up to and including €20 million | €100,000 | |
| Up to and including €25 million | €125,000 | |
| Up to and including €30 million | €150,000 | |
| Up to and including €50 million | €250,000 | |
| More than €50 million | €325,000 |
The overall court fee cost for most actions is likely to be in the range €11,000 - €13,500, plus professional fees for the professional representative to prepare and prosecute the case.
For more information contact one of our European Patent Litigators:
Abigail Welford - Professional Representative before the Unified Patent Court
