Monday 8 August 2011

Warsaw hosts Unified Patent Litigation System conference next month

"The Future Unified Patent Litigation System in the EU" is a one-day conference which is to be held in Warsaw within the framework of the Polish EU Presidency on 23 September 2011.  According to the conference website, the basics are as follows:

Objective
This conference organised in the framework of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council will provide a platform for discussion on the new draft agreement on a Unified Patent Court presented by the Hungarian Presidency on 14 June 2011. At the Competitiveness Council on 27 June 2011, 25 EU Member States agreed in principle to pursue the creation of a unitary patent protection system in the framework of enhanced cooperation. The Council agreed on a general approach for implementing enhanced cooperation in the creation of a unitary system and stressed the link between the creation of unitary patent protection and the creation of a unified patent litigation system. The draft agreement on a Unified Patent Court is key to the successful functioning of the new system.  
The objective of the conference is to analyse how issues raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union in its Opinion 1/09 on the previous version of the agreement regarding compatibility with EU law were addressed, as well as to promote an exchange of views between courts and practitioners on the functioning of the European Patent Court. 
Key topics
The one-day conference will consist of three panels, in which judges, legal practitioners, academic experts and users of the patent system will be invited to give their perspectives on the following issues:
  • The draft agreement on the Unified Patent Court: Effectiveness and flexibility
  • Overall architecture of the future Unified Patent Court
  • Conformity of the new patent system with the EU Treaties
There will be time for discussion.

The event is organised by ERA, the Academy of European Law, and has an impressive cast of speakers -- including some seasoned patent judges. You can get all the details of the programme and registration here.

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