The jurisdiction of European courts in patent disputes

There is no single European court to deal with patent infringement and revocation disputes relating to European patents validated in the contracting states to the European Patent Convention. It is often the case that each national part of a European patent is separately litigated. The Unitary Patent package will create a single patent for up to 26 EU member states, as well as a single court - the Unified Patent Court - competent to deal with infringement and revocation disputes concerning Unitary Patents as well as classical European patents. The Brussels Regime sets out the rules determining the jurisdiction of national courts to adjudicate disputes on civil and commercial matters, including patents. The Brussels Ia Regulation was updated in 2014 to include the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court as a court common to the contracting member states. This manual seeks to explain the regime provided in the Brussels Ia Regulation and the Lugano Convention as they apply to patent infringement and revocation disputes, and to present the various jurisdictional options available to plaintiffs. In doing so, it takes account of the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Together with the author and expert European patent judges and lawyers, the European Patent Academy has developed this manual, using a combination of theory, charts and scenarios, to present the jurisdictional landscape in the European patent litigation system.