Germany: new filing options for UPC users and strategic considerations for patent challengers in Europe, IAM 2025

This article discusses some aspects that arose as a direct or indirect consequence of the entry into force of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement on 1 June 2023 at German and European level. These include the partial abolition of the prohibition on double protection in Germany and new filing strategies opening up from this, as well as the urgently needed further acceleration of opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office (EPO), the latter in particular in light of UPC case law on the (non-)suspension of a revocation action while an opposition is still pending before the EPO. It also touches on the recent referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal on fundamental questions of claim interpretation at the EPO (G 1/24).