单一专利和统一专利法院

The Unitary Patent and Unified Patents Court

单一专利和统一专利法院 单一专利（UP）和统一专利法院 （UPC）预计将于 2023 年初开始生 效。本新闻简报对 UP 和 UPC 体系作 了解释，并对专利所有者和申请人在 该体系生效之前需要考虑的事项作了 探究。

The Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patents Court (UPC) are expected to come into effect in early 2023. In this newsletter we explain the UP and the UPC systems and look at what patent proprietors and applicants need to think about before the systems come into effect.

背景

Background

众所周知，在现有体系下，在欧洲专 利授予阶段，申请人需要确定在 38 个 欧洲专利公约 (EPC) 成员国中选择想 让专利生效的国家，从而获得一揽子 单独的国家专利。

As you know, according to the existing system, at the grant stage of a European patent it is decided in which of the 38 European Patent Convention (EPC) member states the applicant would like to validate the patent, resulting in a bundle of separate national patents.

Figure 1 - The Existing System 图1 - 现有体系 Grant 授予 EP (UK) EP（英国）

EP（ドイツ）

EPA EPA EPA EPA EPA- European Patent Application – Single prosecution to grant at the EPO

EPA

EPA - 欧洲专利申请 – EPO 进行单一授权审查

EP (DE) EP（英国）

EP（フランス） EP（ドイツ） EP（スペイン） EP (FR) EP（英国） EP（フランス） EP（トルコ） EP（ドイツ） EP（スペイン） EP (ES) EP（英国） EP（フランス） EP（トルコ） EP（ドイツ） EP（スペイン） EP (TR) EP（英国） EP（フランス） EP（トルコ）

EP（ドイツ） EP - European Patent EP（スペイン） – Bundle of separate national patents, after EP（フランス） EP（トルコ） validation of the EPA – Litigation on a national basis EP（スペイン） EP（トルコ）

EP - 欧洲专利 – EPA 获批后，获得一揽子单独的国家专利 – 国家诉讼 (Separate national routes not shown) （未显示单独的国家途径）

除此之外，在欧洲专利局的 9 个月异议 期结束后，要想让某个国家专利无效， 只能在对应的国家提出。

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Along with this, after the EPOs 9-month opposition period, the only way to invalidate the separate national patents is on a national basis.

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UP 和 UPC 体系

The UP and UPC System

新的体系将包括单一专利和统一专 利法院。

The coming system will include a Unitary Patent and a Unified Patent Court.

单一专利是为了提供在已加入该体 系的欧盟（EU）成员国具有统一效 力的单一专利权。它是一项单一专 利，可源于已授予的欧洲专利，在 UPC 的所有缔约成员国，即已批准 UPC 协议的欧盟成员国（UPC 国 家）具有统一效力。

The aim of the Unitary Patent is to provide a single patent right covering participating European Union (EU) states. It is a single patent which will be derivable from the granted European patent, covering all contracting member states to the UPC, which are those EU member states which have ratified the UPC agreement (UPC states).

上述内容援引自欧盟第 1257/2012 号 条例的序言部分。该条例不仅强化 了创设单一专利保护领域的合作（ 为 UP 和 UPC 铺平了道路），而且 很好地概述了单一专利的目标：

This quote is from the preamble of EU regulation no. 1257/2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection (the regulation that paved the way for the UP and UPC) and it sums up the aim of the unitary patent rather nicely:

单一专利保护可以使得进入专利体 系更为便捷，更加节省成本，提高 法律安全性。当以专利保护也让专 利在参与该体系的成员国获得统一 的保护变得可能，从而提高专利保 护水平，在欧盟内部的专利活动中 节省成本，简化流程。 设立统一专利法院是为了在该体系 覆盖的的EU 成员国建立一个单一 法院，以审理侵权和有效性纠纷。 该法院将提供一个直接适用于 UPC 国家的单一裁决。但最终目标是让 UPC 不仅对 UP 具有专属权限，而 且对欧洲专利在 UPC 国家的国家专 利生效具有专属权限。 因此，UPC 将对单一专利具有专属 管辖权，最后（过渡期结束后）， 在 UPC 国家生效的所有欧洲专利 也都将受 UPC 的管辖。但是在过渡 期结束之前选择退出的专利或申请 除外，稍后我们会论及这方面的内 容。 过渡期内，UPC 与 UPC 国家的国家 法院共享国家专利生效的管辖权。 UPC 对 EP 在非 UPC 国家（例如英

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Unitary patent protection will [make] access to the patent system easier, less costly and legally secure. It will also improve the level of patent protection by making it possible to obtain uniform patent protection in the participating Member States and eliminate costs and complexity for undertakings throughout the Union.

The aim of the Unified Patent Court is to have a single court covering participating EU states for hearing infringement and validity disputes. It will provide a single ruling which will be directly applicable in the UPC states. However, the ultimate aim is that the UPC will have exclusive competence not just for UPs but for national validations of European patents in the UPC states.

The UPC will therefore have exclusive jurisdiction over Unitary Patents, and ultimately (after a transitional period) all European patents validated in the UPC states will come under the UPC’s jurisdiction. The exception to this is those patents or applications opted out before the end of the transitional period, as we will comment on later.

国）的生效没有管辖权，对非通过 EPO 授予的国家专利也没有任何管 辖权。

During the transitional period, the UPC will share jurisdiction over the national validations in the UPC states with the national courts of those states.

截至发稿时，预计单一专利启动时

The UPC will not have any jurisdiction over

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将覆盖 17 个国家，未来可能还会有更 多的欧盟国家加入。

EP validations for non-UPC states, such as the UK. The UPC will also not have any jurisdiction over national patents which were not granted through the EPO.

现有的欧洲专利和国家体系不会被取 代。EPC 与欧盟不同，因此 EPC 国家 与欧盟国家也不同，部分欧盟国家已 批准 UPC 协议（UPCA）。

At the time of writing the unitary patent will cover 17 states at launch and more EU states may join over time.

The existing European patent and national systems will continue. The EPC is not the same as the European Union, and therefore EPC states are not the same as European Union countries, a subset of which have ratified the UPC agreement (UPCA).

Figure 2 图2

EPC/EU Member state that has ratified UPCA 已批准 UPCA 的 EPC/EU 成员国 EPC/EU Member state that has not yet ratified UPCA 尚未批准 UPCA 的 EPC/EU 成员国 EPC Member state that cannot/will not ratify UPCA 不能/不会批准 UPCA 的 EPC 成员国

上图绿色部分显示的是已批准 UPC 协 议 (UPCA) 的 EPC 和欧盟国家。这些 国家将成为 UP/UPC 体系最初的组成 部分。新体系启动前，德国也将成为 3

The above figure shows in green the EPC and EU states that have ratified the UPC agreement (UPCA). These will be part of the UP/UPC system from the outset. Germany will become green in time for the start of the new system. Shown

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绿色部分的一员。黄色部分显示的是能 够批准但尚未批准 UPC 协议的 EPC 和 欧盟国家。深灰色显示的是不能或不 会批准 UPCA 的 EPC 国家。对于未加 入该体系的 UP 国家，现有生效程序不 变。 独立于 EPO 运行的现有国家体系也将 继续正常运行，但 UPC 对非通过 EPO 授予的国家专利没有任何管辖权。 目前，已批准 UPCA 的 16 个国家分别 是：比利时、保加利亚、丹麦、爱沙 尼亚、法国、意大利、拉脱维亚、立陶 宛、卢森堡、马耳他、荷兰、奥地利、 葡萄牙、斯洛文尼亚、芬兰、瑞典。 尚未批准 UPCA 的 8 个国家分别是： 捷克共和国、德国、爱尔兰、希腊、 塞浦路斯、匈牙利、罗马尼亚、斯洛 伐克。

Existing national systems which operate independently of the EPO will also continue as normal but the UPC will not have any jurisdiction over any national patents which are not granted through the EPO. At present, 16 states have ratified: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden.

8 States are yet to ratify: Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia.

德国交存批准文书后，也将成为地图 上的绿色国家部分，届时，UPCA 将生 效，UPC 也将得以运行。

Once Germany deposits its instrument of ratification, it will become green on the map, the UPCA will come into effect and the UPC will be able to operate.

因此，不出意外的话，第 1 天授予的 UP 将在 17 个欧盟成员国受到保护： 比利时、保加利亚、丹麦、爱沙尼亚、 法国、意大利、拉脱维亚、立陶宛、卢 森堡、马耳他、荷兰、奥地利、葡萄 牙、斯洛文尼亚、芬兰、瑞典和德国。

Therefore, if things stay as they are, a UP granted on day 1 will cover 17 EU member states: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, and Germany.

UP 体系的运作方式与当前体系大致相

同。欧洲申请获批后，您可以将专利登 记为一个在所有已加入该体系的 UP 国 家统一生效的单一专利，以及一揽子未 加入该体系的 UP 国家的国家权利（下 文案例 1）；也可以将欧洲申请登记为 一揽子国家权利，包括加入和未加入 该体系的 UP 国家的国家权利（下文案 例 2）。 在这两种情况下，UPC 对 EP 在未加入 该体系的 UP 国家的生效均没有管辖 权。 4

in yellow are the EPC and EU states that are able to ratify the UPC agreement but have not yet done so. Shown in dark grey are the EPC states that cannot or will not ratify the UPCA. The existing validations for non-participating UP states will continue as normal.

The UP system will work in much the same way as the current system does. When a European application is granted you’ll be able to validate either as a single unitary patent, covering all the participating UP states, together with a bundle of national rights of non participating UP states (case 1 below) or you can validate the European application as a bundle of national rights including both participating and non-participating UP states (case 2 below).

In both cases the UPC will not have jurisdiction over the EP validations in the nonparticipating UP states.

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特許付与 Figure 3 图3

UP

Grant 授予与 特許付与 特許付

特許付与 特許付与

UPUP UP UP

UPC管轄 EP（英国） UPC管轄 UPC jurisdiction UPC 管轄 UPC管轄 UPC 管辖权 EP（スペイン） UPC管轄

EP（トルコ） EP（英国） EP（英国） EP (UK) EP（英国） EP（スペイン） または EP（スペイン） EP（英国） EP（スペイン） EPEP（ト (ES) ルコ） EP（トルコ） EPA EP（スペイン） EP（トルコ） EPA EP（英国） または または EPA EP (TR) EP（トルコ） EP（ドイツ） または EPA EP（英 国） または EP（フランス） Case 1: a European application is validated as a single unitary patent, covering allEP（英国） the participating EP（ド イツ） UP states, together with a bundle of national rights of non-participating UP states.EP（英国） The UPC will have EP（トルコ） EP（ドイツ） EP（フ ランス jurisdiction over the unitary patent. The UPC will not have jurisdiction over the national validations in）the EP（英国） EP（ドイツ） EP（スペイン） non-participating UP states, in this example - the UK, Spain and Türkiye.

EP（フランス） EP（トルコ） EP（ドイツ） EP（フランス） 案例 1：将欧洲专利登记为一个在所有已加入该体系的 UP 国家统一生效的单一专利，以及一揽子未加入该体 EP（トルコ） EP（スペイン） EP（フランス） 系的 UP 国家的国家权利。UPC 对单一专利具有管辖权。UPC 对在未加入该体系的 UP EP（トルコ） 国家（例如本案中的英 EP（スペイン） EP（トルコ） 特許付与国、西班牙和土耳其）的生效没有管辖权。 EP（スペイン） EP（スペイン） 特許付与 特許付与 UPC管轄 UP EPA

特許付与

特許付与 Grant 授予与 特許付 特許付与

EPA

Figure 4 图 4 UP

UP UP UP または UP

UP

UPC管轄 UPC管轄 EP（英国） UPC管轄 EP（スペイン） EP（英国） EP (UK) EP（英国） UPC管轄 EP（トルコ） EP（スペイン） EP（スペイン） EP（英国） 管轄UPC jurisdiction EPUPC (DE) UPC管轄 EP（トルコ） EP（トルコ）

EP（スペイン） UUPC 管辖权 EP（英国） EP (FR) または または EP（トルコ） EP（英国） EP（スペイン） EP（英国） EP（英国） EP (TR) または EP（ドイツ） EP（トルコ） EP（ス ペイン） EP（英国） EP（スペイン） EP（英国） EPA EP（フランス） EP（ト ルコ） EP (ES) または EP（ドイツ） EP（トルコ） EPA EP（ドイツ） EP（英国） EP（トルコ） EPA または EP（フランス） EP（フランス） または EP（ドイツ） EP（スペイン） EP（英国） Case 2: a European patent application is validated as a bundle of national rights including both EP（トルコ） participating and non-participating UP states. The UPC will have jurisdictionEP（フランス） over theEP（トルコ） individual national EP（ドイツ） EP（英 国） over the rights in the UPC states, in this example - Germany and France. The UPC will EP（スペイン） not have jurisdiction EP（英国） EP（スペイン） EP（トルコ） EP validations in the non-participating UP states, in this example - the EP（フランス） UK,EP（ド Spain and Türkiye. イツ） EP（ドイツ） EP（スペイン） 案例 2：将欧洲申请登记为一揽子国家权利，包括加入和未加入该体系的 UP 国家的国家权利。UPC EP（トルコ） EP（フランス）对 UPC EP（フランス） 国家（例如本案中的德国和法国）内的个别国家权利具有管辖权。UPC 对 EP 在未加入该体系的 UP 国家（例 EP（スペイン） EP（ト ルコ） 如本案中的英国、西班牙和土耳其）的生效没有管辖权。 EP（トルコ） EP（スペイン） EP（スペイン） EPA EPA EPA

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如何获得单一专利

How To Obtain a Unitary Patent

申请单一专利时，应在自专利授予日期 起的一个月内向 EPO 提交将欧洲专利 申请登记为 UP 的请求。

You apply for a unitary patent by requesting, at the EPO, that your European patent application is validated as a UP within 1 month of the date of grant.

如果申请使用法语或德语书就，提交请 求时，必须附带一份完整的英文译本； 如果申请使用英语书就，提交请求时， 必须附带一份完整的其他任一种欧盟语 言译本。

This must be accompanied by a full translation into English if the application is in French or German, or into any other European Union language if the application is in English.

如果无法进行进一步处理，可以在充分 谨慎的基础上请求重新制备申请。如果 满足关于 UP 生效请求的实质性要求， 但未满足正式要求（例如缺少译本） ，EPO 会要求在一个月期限内对缺漏进 行纠正。 我们建议在收到专利授权意向（第 71(3) 条）通知书（如非提前收到）时 就确定 UP 生效程序。

We recommend that the decision on UP validation is taken when the grant (Rule 71(3)) communication is received, if not beforehand.

过渡期

Transitional Period

如前所述，过渡期（最初）是 7 年，5 年后对该体系进行广泛审查，之后可再 延长 7 年。

As mentioned above, there is a transitional period of (initially) 7 years, extendable by up to a further 7 years, following a wide ranging review of the system after 5 years.

过渡期内及过渡期结束后，可以按常规 方式或也可以按 UP 专利（及一揽子未 加入该体系的 UP 国家的国家权利）生 效已授权的 EP 专利。

During, and after, the transitional period EP patents which are granted can be validated in the usual way or as a UP patent (with bundles of national rights in the non participating UP states).

过渡期内，UPC 将与国家法院共享欧洲 专利相关国家权利的管辖权。但是，过 渡期结束后，UPC 将获得 UPC 国家新 授权欧洲专利的独家管辖权；除非 EP 申请在过渡期内选择退出。 可以“选择退出” EPC 的管辖。过期 EP 专利、现有 EP 专利或未来 EP 专利 （即未决申请）可以在过渡期内选择退 出 UPC 的管辖，在此情况下，仅 UP 国 家的国家法院对在自己国家生效的专利 具有管辖权。 UPC 对单一专利始终具有专属管辖权，

单一专利不能选择退出。

在国家法院提起诉讼时，无须选择退出 UPC 的管辖。

现状 目前处于临时适用期，预计将持续数 6

Further processing not available, but reestablishment can be requested, on all due care basis. If substantive requirements for the request for the UP validation are met, but formal requirements are not (e.g. if a translation is missing), the EPO will invite correction of the defects with a one month deadline.

During the transitional period the UPC will share jurisdiction over the respective national rights with the national courts in respect of European patents. However, after the transitional period, the UPC will have exclusive jurisdiction for all newly granted European patents within the UPC states; the only exception to this is if the EP application was opted out during the transitional period.

The jurisdiction of the UPC can be “opted out” of.

So, for expired EP patents, existing EP patents or future EP patents (i.e. pending applications) they can be opted out of the UPC jurisdiction during the transitional period, which means that only the national courts of the UP states would have jurisdiction over their own national validations.

UPC always has exclusive jurisdiction over Unitary Patents – that cannot be opted out of.

There is no need to opt out of the UPC’s jurisdiction to bring an action in the national courts.

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月。现已获准设立法院，正在进行 UPC 法院启动的最后筹备工作（例如 法官任命、IT 系统部署等）。将于德 国批准 UPC 协议后的 3-4 个月，启动 UPC 系统 。 我们建议所有申请人现在就考虑是否 选择退出及其相关 UP 策略。 我们将在下文详细讨论这个问题，但 只有 EP 专利或申请的真正所有人才 能提出有效的退出请求，该所有人不 一定是 EPO 登记簿上的所有者/申请 人，因为比如可能存在未登记转让的 情况。 在策略方面，UP 和传统一揽子专利的 覆盖范围可以扩展到未加入 UP 体系的 国家，例如英国、西班牙和波兰。传 统一揽子专利避开了 UPC 的管辖，但 是如果拟登记专利的国家超过 4 个， 那么生效费用和后续的维持费将比 UP 要高。 申请人还可以选择混合策略——在 某些情况下（例如，考虑到集中撤回 的风险，可以在战略意义不大的情况 下）选择 UP，而在其他情况下（比如 在战略意义较大的情况下）选择传统 的一揽子国家权利。 也可以采用分案策略。例如，申请人 可以申请地理覆盖范围广泛的 UP，并 针对特定的重要特征提交一些有针对 性的分案申请。 要不要选择 UP？ UP 受 UPC 的专属管辖——有利有

弊。

集中（泛欧）诉讼有一定的优势，因 为法院可以做出一项在所有加入该体 系的成员国均有效的单一裁决，这 比在多个不同国家的国家法院提起平 行诉讼更快捷、更简单、更划算。但 是，UPC 是一种新型法院，所以我们 还不知道它会如何处理侵权和有效性

Current Position Currently, we’re in the provisional application period which is expected to last a number of months. It has allowed the courts to be set up and the final preparations for launch of the UPC court are being made, e.g. the appointment of judges, deployment of IT systems etc. Germany will ratify the UPC agreement which will trigger the UPC system to launch 3-4 months after their ratification.¹ We recommend that all applicants think now about opt outs, as well as their UP strategy.

We will discuss this in more detail below, but opt outs can only validly be requested by the true owner of an EP patent or application which may not necessarily be the proprietor/applicant recorded on the EPO register, e.g. if an assignment has not been recorded.

As regards strategy, a UP and a traditional bundle allows coverage to be extended to states that are not part of the UP system such as the UK, Spain, and Poland. A traditional bundle avoids the jurisdiction of the UPC but will to be more expensive than a UP in validation and subsequent renewal fees if there are more than about 4 countries.

An applicant could also opt for a mixed strategy – choosing a UP for some cases (e.g. those less strategically important given the risk of central revocation), and the traditional bundle of national rights for other cases (perhaps those that are more strategically important).

A divisional strategy may also be appropriate. For example, an applicant could file a broad UP for wide geographical coverage with some targeted divisional applications to specific important features.

To UP or Not UP? UPs will be subject to the UPC’s exclusive jurisdiction – this could be both a benefit and a disadvantage.

Centralised (pan-European) litigation may be

¹ The relevant legislation says that the UPC will launch on the first day of the fourth month following German ratification, so there will be between 3 and 4 months between German ratification and UPC launch depending on when in the month Germany ratifies the agreement. 相关立法规定，UPC 将在德国批准 UPC 协议后的第四个月的第一天启动，也就是说德国批准 UPC 协议后，距离 UPC 启动 还会有 3 到 4 个月的时间，具体启动时间要看德国何时批准 UPC 协议。 1

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问题；它是否愿意授予临时和最终禁 令；以及它会如何处理与有效性相关的 潜在争议问题，例如新增主题、披露的 充分性和创造性。这个体系也有一定 的弊端，由于权利的单一性，专利很 容易受到集中攻击——无效诉讼一旦 成功，很可能会导致集中撤回，也就 是说在所有 UPC 国家完全丧失所有专 利权。 在费用方面，预计 UP 的生效和维持费 要比在四个或更多单独的 EPC 成员国 产生的生效和维持费低很多。 但在部分国家，例如英国和爱尔兰，是 无法通过 UP 获得专利保护的（至少最 开始是这样的）。因此在这些国家， 需要办理额外的国家生效手续，从而 抵消一些费用优势（但是通过 UP 获得 的地理覆盖范围仍然比单独的国家生效 程序要多）。不同于国家生效体系， 在该体系下，为了减少维持费而“放 弃”在个别国家续展专利是行不通的， 也就是说，专利组合是不能“删减” 的——对 UP 来说，要么全部保留，要 么全部放弃——因此，如果不缴纳维 持费，专利保护将在所有参与国失效。 由于 UP 只能覆盖 UP 生效时参与该体 系的 UP 国家，因此 UP 提供的地理覆 盖范围在 UP 生效时即锁定为 UP 生效 时已经批准 UPC 协议的 UPC 国家。 对于任何即将获批的待决欧洲专利申 请，可以考虑请求延迟下发授权通知。 德国交存批准文书后，即将启动新的 EPO 机制。如果待下发授权通知书/第 71(3) 条通知书的答复截止日期在德国 交存批准文书与 UP 和 UPC 体系启动 之间，可以向 EPO 提出一项简单的请 求，确保延迟至 UP 生效程序启动后再 批准欧洲专利申请。 如果稍微过了审查期，例如已下发授权 通知书，并且截止日期就在接下来的几 个月，那么在延迟授权方面，可能需要 多一点开创性。例如，答复授权通知书 时，可以修改申请，以便重置授权通知 书的答复截止日期，尽力将专利授权推 迟到 UP 生效程序启动之后。 如果确定想要在欧洲专利申请获批后将 授权专利登记成为 UP，可以基于德国 8

beneficial because it allows a single decision to be achieved with effect in all the participating member states which is quicker, simpler, and more cost effective than pursuing parallel litigation in the national courts of multiple individual states. However, the UPC is a new court, so we don’t yet know how it will approach issues of infringement and validity; how willing it will be to grant interim and final injunctions; and how it will handle potentially controversial issues that are relevant to validity, such as added subject matter, sufficiency of disclosure, and inventive step. The system may also be seen as disadvantageous because the unitary nature of the right makes it vulnerable to central attack – a successful invalidity action could lead to central revocation, i.e. a complete loss of all patent rights in all UPC states.

Regarding costs, the expectation is that validating and renewing a UP will be more cost effective than validating and renewing in four or more individual EPC member states.

But patent protection will not be available in some states via a UP, e.g. the UK and Ireland (at least at the outset) so additional national validations will be required in those states and this may offset some of the cost benefits (although you still get more geographical coverage for your money with a UP than would be possible with individual national validations).

Individual countries cannot be ‘dropped’ by failure to renew to reduce ongoing maintenance costs like under the national validation system, so there is no ability to “prune” a portfolio – it is all or nothing with a UP – if renewal fee is not paid then patent protection is lost in all participating states.

As the UP can only ever cover the countries which were participating UP states at the time of its validation as a UP, the geographical extent given by a UP is locked in at the point of validation to those UPC states that were available at the point of validation.

It is worth thinking about delaying the grant of any pending European patent applications that are approaching allowance. Once Germany has deposited its instrument of ratification a new EPO mechanism will begin. This means that for cases with a grant/Rule 71(3) communication being issued for which the response deadline falls between that German ratification and the start of UP and UPC system, you will be

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able to file a very simple request at the EPO to ensure that the grant of that European patent application is delayed to the point at which the UP is available as a validation option.

If you have cases which are slightly more advanced than the prosecution, for example where the grant communication has already issued and the deadline is approaching in the next couple of months, you might have to be a bit more creative about how you delay its grant.

For example, you could delay by responding to the grant communication such as by making amendments to the application to re-set the grant communication’s deadlines to try and get the grant to issue after the UP is available as a validation option.

交存批准文书后启动的另一 EPO 机制 提前提出单一效力请求（前提是有关 UP 生效的所有要求，例如提交相关译 文，均已得到满足）。这样一来，一旦 UP 可用并且体系生效，您的欧洲专利 申请将自动被授权和登记成为 UP，也 就是说，自体系生效的第一天起，您就 获得了 UP，只要您愿意，您就可以在 UPC 实施该 UP。 最后，正如我们之前所说，要想提交既 涵盖单一专利又涵盖国家专利的申请， 也可以考虑分案申请策略。

选择退出 UPC 启动运行后，UPC 成员国内所有 现有欧洲专利的生效都将归 UPC 管 辖，这就意味着可以通过 UPC 集中实

施或攻击某项已授权的欧洲专利，并 获得在所有 EPC 国家均有效的单一裁 决——选择退出 UPC 管辖的情况除 外。

过渡期内，已授权欧洲专利和待决申请 可以选择退出 UPC 管辖，只受国家法 院的管辖。通过这种方式退出的主要优 点是，可以避免集中撤回风险。 选择退出后，您还可以重新选择加入， 9

If you definitely know that you want your European patent applications to be granted and validated as UP’s there will be another EPO mechanism which will also begin once Germany has deposited it’s instrument of ratification and that will allow you, again with a simple request, to request unitary effect early (provided that you have complied with all the requirements for UP validations, e.g. filing the relevant translation).

The effect of this is that, once the UP is available and once the system comes into effect, your European patent application will automatically be granted and validated as a UP, so you will have a UP from day 1 that you can then enforce through the UPC if you want to.

Finally, as we said earlier, divisional applications could be used as part of a filing strategy that encompasses both a unitary patent and national patents.

Opt Outs Once the UPC is up and running, all existing European patent validations in UPC members states will fall under its jurisdiction which means that it will be possible to enforce or attack a granted European patent centrally through the UPC and obtain a single decision that is effective in all of the UPC states – unless the UPC is opted out of.

During the transitional period it will be possible to opt existing granted European patents and pending applications out of the UPCs jurisdiction, so that they fall under the jurisdiction of only the national courts. The main benefit of opting out in this way is that you avoid that the risk of central revocation.

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但只有一次机会（举个例子，您不能 为了逃避 UPC 的管辖而选择退出， 然后在想要提起诉讼时再选择加入， 最后在未发生诉讼的情况下，再选择 退出）。

You can opt back in after opting out, but only once (so, for example, you can’t opt out to avoid UPC jurisdiction, then opt back in in anticipation of litigation, then opt back out if litigation doesn’t happen).

UPC 启动前，还会有一个所谓的日出 期，预计会持续 3 个月；该日初期

There is also a period called the Sunrise Period which we expect to last for the 3 months immediately preceding the launch of the UPC, and the aim of that Sunrise period is to allow early opt outs. So the intention of an optout within this 3-month Sunrise period is that it would be effective as soon as the UPC system is up and running, so your European patents never come under the jurisdiction of the UPC and that will allow you to avoid the risk of revocation actions from day 1 of the UPC.

的目的，旨在允许提前选择退出。有 意向在这 3 个月的日出期内选择退 出的，退出选择将在 UPC 体系启动 运行后立即生效，确保您的欧洲专利 从未受到 UPC 的管辖，让您从 UPC 第 1 天起就能避免面临撤销诉讼的风 险。 退出选择可以撤销，实际上就相当于 选择再次接受 UPC 的管辖，除非已 在国家法院提起诉讼。因此，您可以 选择让您的欧洲专利退出 UPC 的管 辖，以此来避免集中撤回风险，随后 您还可以出于在 UPC 提起侵权诉讼 等目的撤回该退出选择，重新接受 UPC 的管辖。 如果未选择退出，管辖权将取决于首 次提起诉讼的地点。通过这种方式， 侵权人可以提起诉讼，将专利锁定 在 UPC 的管辖范围之内。同样地， 侵权人也可以在一个国家法院提起诉 讼，将专利锁定在 UPC 的管辖范围 之外。

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An opt out can be withdrawn, which is effectively opting back into the jurisdiction of the UPC, unless an action has already been brought at a national court. So, it will be possible to opt your European patent out of the jurisdiction of the UPC to protect it from the risk of central revocation but then subsequently withdraw that opt out to opt back in, e.g. so that you can pursue an infringement action at the UPC. If not opted out, then the jurisdiction depends on where the first action is brought. In this way, an infringer could launch an action to lock a patent in to the UPC’s jurisdiction. Similarly, an infringer could launch an action at a national court to lock the patent out of the UPC’s jurisdiction.

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Figure 5 图5

UPC Agreement comes into effect UPC 协议生效

Provisional Application Period 临时适用期 Pre-launch Period 前启动期

Transitional period 过渡期

Sunrise Period 日出期

UPC – exclusive jurisdiction 过渡期

UPs can be requested 可提交 UP 请求

EP

EP

EP

UP

UP

National Courts of UP States UP UP 国家的国 家法院

National Courts of UP States UP UP 国家的国 家法院

该图顶部的时间线显示了临时适用 期、3 个月的日出期、过渡期和后过渡 期。 图的底部显示了四种不同的情况。在每 种情况下，红色段都表示 UPC 成员国 的国家法院具有管辖权，蓝色段都表示 UPC 具有管辖权。 第一种情况：最上面一行显示，即日起 到过渡期开始之前授予的任何欧洲专利 都可以选择退出 UPC 的管辖，退出后， 只有国家法院才能处理与该欧洲专利相 关的诉讼（除非撤销退出选择，专利重 新接受 UPC 的管辖）。如果未选择退 出，这些专利将由 UPC 和国家法院共 同管辖，过渡期结束后，由 UPC 专属管 辖。共享管辖权意味着既可以向 UPC 提 起欧洲专利诉讼，也可以向国家法院提 起欧洲专利诉讼，也就是说无须选择退 出 UPC 的管辖即可在国家法院就这些专 利提起诉讼。 11

Opt out EPA EPA选择退出 EPA

Grant of EPA EPA批准 EPA

Request UP 请求 UP

EP

Grant of EPA EPA批准 EPA

National Courts of UP States UP UP 国家的国 家法院

Grant of EPA EPA批准 EPA

Jurisdiction within UPC states 与 UPC 国家共享管辖权

National Courts of UP States UP UP 国家的国 家法院

Grant of EPA 批准 EPA

Opt-outs available 可选择退出

EP

EP UP

At the top of this graph there is a timeline showing the provisional application period, the 3-month sunrise period, the transitional period, and the post-transitional period.

The bottom of the graph shows four different scenarios. In each scenario, the red band illustrates the jurisdiction of the national courts of the UPC members states and the blue band illustrates the jurisdiction of the UPC. First Scenario: The top line shows that any European patent granted from now until the start of the transitional period can be opted out of the UPC’s jurisdiction, in which case only the national courts will be able to handle proceedings relating to it (unless the patent is opted back in to the UPC’s jurisdiction by withdrawing the opt out). If not opted out, these patents will be subject to the joint jurisdiction of the UPC and the national courts until the end of the transitional period, at which point they will come under the exclusive jurisdiction of the UPC. Shared jurisdiction means that actions can be brought in either the UPC

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第二种情况：第二行显示的是过渡期内授 权的欧洲专利。过渡期内授权的 任何EP 仍可以在过渡期结束前的一个月选择退 出。选择退出的申请只接受国家法院的管 辖，如该行顶部所示。如中间段所示，如 果未选择退出，申请将由 UPC 和国家法 院共同管辖。如底部所示，如果（在过渡 期内获得授权后或早些时候，在前启动期 提前向 EPO 提交单一效力请求）将专利 登记成为 UP，专利将由 UPC 专属管辖。

or the national courts in respect of European patents – in other words, there is no need to opt out of the UPC’s jurisdiction to bring an action in the national courts for these patents.

Second Scenario: The second line shows a European patent that grants during the transitional period. Any EPs granted during the transitional period can still be opted out up to one month before the end of the transitional period. An opted out application is under the jurisdiction of the national courts only, shown by the top band in this line. As shown by the middle band, if not opted out then the application is under the joint jurisdiction of the UPC and the national courts. As shown by the bottom band, if the patent is validated as a UP (either after grant during the transitional period or early, making use of the EPO early request for unitary effect mechanism during the pre-launch period), then it will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the UPC.

第三种情况：第三行显示的是，过渡期结 束后授权并在过渡期内选择退出的欧洲专 利。这些国家专利将仅接受国家法院管 辖。 第四种情况：第四行显示的是，过渡期结 束后授权但未在过渡期内选择退出的专 利。这些专利无论是登记成为国家专利， 还是单一专利，都将由 UPC 专属管辖。

Third Scenario: The third line shows the situation where a European patent grants after the end of the transitional period and which was opted out during the transition period. These national patents will be under the jurisdiction of the national courts only.

Figure 6 - Where we are now 图 6 -当前进展 At least 8 months 至少 8 个月

Fourth Scenario: The fourth line shows patents granted after the end of the transitional period where no opt out was filed during the transitional period. These patents will come under the exclusive jurisdiction of the UPC, whether validated nationally or as Unitary Patents.

UPC Agreement comes into effect UPC 协议生效

Germany deposits UPCA ratification 德国交存 UPCA 批准文书 3-4 months 3 - 4 个月 3 months 3 个月 Provisional Application Period Period of joint national and UPC jurisdiction for granted EPs

临时适用期

Pre-launch period Period for requesting unitary effect early 前启动期

提前请求单一效力期 Sunrise period Period for opting out in advance 日出期

提前选择退出期

Transitional period Period of joint national and UPC jurisdiction for granted EPs 过渡期 授权 EP 接受国家法院和 UPC 共同管辖期

UPC – exclusive jurisdiction For UPs and EPs not previously opted out UPC - 专属管辖 对于此前未选择退出的 UP 和 EP

UPs can be requested 可提交 UP 请求 Opt-outs available 19 January 2022 2022 年 1 月 19 日

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可选择退出

1 month 1 个月

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如上图所示，目前我们正处于临时适用 期，正在进行最后的筹备工作。包括任 命和培训法官，开发和部署 IT 系统。德 国将在某个时候，可能是六月，交存其 批准文书。 “前启动期”是指从德国交存其批准文 书到 UPC 协议 生效这一段时期。 幻灯片底部的灰色区域代表可以申请单 一专利期的起始时间。2 日出期（以橙色显示）不同——EPO 称，日初期是指 UPCA 生效前的三个 月——如上所述，在此期间，可以在过 渡期之前提前选择退出。 幻灯片底部的黄色区域代表可以选择退 出的起始时间点。 绿色区域代表过渡期，也就是国家法院 和 UPC 共同管辖现有的已授权但未选择 退出的欧洲专利的时期。 最后，蓝色区域代表 UPC 对此前未选择 退出的 UP 和欧洲专利在 UPC 成员国的 生效具有专属管辖权的时期。

如何选择退出 UPC 的授权代表可以选择退出，无须

专利/申请的真正所有者作出特定的授 权。这些代表需在 UPC 登记。目前，这 类代表包括具有特定诉讼资格的欧洲专 利代理人，因此即使 HLK 不是 EPO 的 代表，也仍然可以代表任何人士选择退 出。 UPC 议事规则草案第 5(5) 条规定：登记

员应尽快将选择退出申请录入登记簿。 在不违反第 6 款规定的情况下，符合该 条要求的退出应自登记之日起（而非自 请求之日起）视为生效。如果登记簿中 记录的要求有遗漏或有误，可以向登记 处提出更正。更正日期应在登记簿中注 明。退出应自更正之日起生效。

议事规则第 5(12) 条规定：登记处在协议 生效前受理的申请应视为在协议生效之 日登记入册。 因此，选择退出请求应在日出期尽早提 交，以便最大限度地增加申请在日出期

Shown in the above graphic, at the moment we are in this provisional application period where all of the final preparations are being made. Judges are being appointed and trained, IT systems are being developed and deployed. At some point, which may be in June, Germany will deposit its instrument of ratification.

The “pre-launch period” is the period between Germany depositing its instrument of ratification and entry into force of the UPC Agreement.2 The grey area towards the bottom of the slide represents the start of the period within which Unitary Patents can be requested.

The sunrise period (shown in orange) is different – EPO says it will be the three months before the UPCA comes into effect – as above, this is the period for opting out in advance of the transitional period.

The yellow area towards the bottom of the slide indicates the the point from when opt outs become available.

The green area represents the transitional period, being the period of joint national and UPC jurisdiction for existing granted European patents which haven’t been opted out.

Finally, the blue portion is the period in which the UPC will have exclusive jurisdiction for UP’s and national validations of European patents in UPC members states that have not previously been opted out.

How to Opt Out Authorised representatives before the UPC can opt out without a specific mandate from the true proprietor of the patent/application. Those representatives need to be registered with the UPC. At present this includes European Patent Attorneys with specific litigation qualifications so HLK can do this on anyone’ behalf, even if we are not the representative before the EPO. Draft UPC Rules of Procedure Rule 5(5) says that: The Registrar shall as soon as practicable enter the Application to opt out in the register.

Subject to paragraph 6, the opt out which meets the requirements laid down in this Rule shall be regarded as effective from the date of entry in the register (i.e. not from the date of the request).

² As stated above, as per Art 89(1) UPCA, the UPCA enters into force on the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the 13th instrument of ratification.

2 如上所述，根据 UPCA 第 89(1) 条规定，UPCA 在第 13 份批准文书交存后的第四个月的第一天生效。

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被受理并因此获得及时登记的机会，避 免在 UPC 启动第一天遭遇集中撤回诉 讼。 由于议事规则草案要求登记员尽快将选 择退出申请录入登记簿，并且退出选择 在登记后才生效，因此在提出退出请求 和请求实际生效之间可能存在延迟。 我们不知道具体会有多少人提出选择退 出请求，但我们预计会有数万甚至数十 万，我们也不知道 UPC 会如何处理这 些请求。因此，我们建议在日出期尽早 提出申请。

要不要选择退出 至于要不要选择退出，您/您的客户可 以先考虑以下几个问题： 您的专利容易被集中撤回，对 此，您/您的客户有多放心？ ■

您是否想要在 UPC 提起侵权诉 讼，以期获得泛欧禁令？ ■ ■

您是否应该选择退出，然后在需 要时选择重新加入？

下面是一些需要考虑的管理和预算因 素： ■

■

■

■

■

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花时间审查您的专利组合，找出您 自有的欧洲专利和您获得许可的专 利；

If the requirements recorded in the register are missing or incorrect, a correction may be lodged with the Registry. The date of entry of the correction shall be noted in the register. The opt out shall be effective from the date of correction.

Rules of procedure 5(12) says: Applications accepted by the Registry before the entry into force of the Agreement shall be treated as entered on the register on the date of entry into force of the Agreement.

Therefore, opt out requests should be filed as early as possible in the sunrise period, to maximise the chance that they will be accepted in the sunrise period and therefore registered in time to avoid central revocation actions on day 1 of the UPC. Because the draft rules of procedure say that the Registrar will as soon as possible enter the application to opt out in the Register, and the opt out only takes effect when it has been registered, there is a possibility of a delay between requesting the opt out and that request actually being effective.

We don't know exactly how many opt out requests will be filed but we expect it to be in the tens of thousands if not the hundreds of thousands and we also don’t know exactly how the UPC is going to process those requests. Our advice is therefore to do it as early as you possibly can in the sunrise period.

Whether to Opt Out

核查所有权情况（因为只有真正的 所有人可以选择退出，而真正的所 有人不一定是登记簿上的所有者， 因为比如可能存在已经转让的情 况）

Some questions worth asking yourselves/your clients concerning whether to opt out or not are:

■

How comfortable are you/your clients with your patents being vulnerable to central revocation?

核查所有权情况（因为只有真正的 所有人可以选择退出，而真正的所 有人不一定是登记簿上的所有者， 因为比如可能存在已经转让的情 况）

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Will you want to use the UPC for infringement actions to seek a pan European injunction?

■

Should you opt out and then opt back in if needed?

如果被许可方请求让您授予其许可 的专利选择退出（或保留），您会 如何处理？ 这些程序都会产生管理开销和相关 费用。。

Some administrative and budgetary considerations worth thinking about now are:

■

Spending time auditing your portfolio to identify your own European patents and those that are licensed-in;

■

Check the ownership position (because only the true owner can opt out, and the true owner may be different than the proprietor

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结论以及 HLK 如何为您提供帮助

who appears on the register, e.g. if an assignment has taken place)

很明显，新体系将会极大增加程序的复杂 性，而且决定是否使用 UP 以及是否选择 退出 UPC 管辖时会受到许多因素的影响。

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我们希望尽可能帮您简化退出过程。我们 开发了自己的定制系统，该系统会自动获 取您提供给我们的数据，并与官方 EPO 记 录进行核对。

If there are patents with joint proprietors, you’ll need to decide together, because an opt out request must be filed on behalf of all proprietors

■

How will you deal with requests from any licensees to opt out (or leave in) patents that they are licensing from you?

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All this comes with an administrative overhead and an associated cost.

如需了解我们在选择退出方面能够为您提 供哪些帮助或者您对 UP/UPC 体系有任何 疑问，请随时与我们联系。作为一家律 所，我们的目标是确保我们的全球客户和 同事尽可能地为 UP/UPC 体系的引入做好 准备，因此我们很乐意竭尽所能地为您提 供帮助。

Conclusion and How HLK Can Help You Clearly the new system is going to add a lot of complexity and decisions over whether to use the UP and whether to opt out of the UPC’s jurisdiction will be influenced by a number of factors.

We want to make the opt out process as simple as possible for you. We have developed our own bespoke system which automatically takes the data that you provide us and checks this with official EPO records.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us to discuss how we can help you with opt outs or if you have any questions about the UP/UPC system. Our goal as a firm is to ensure that our clients and colleagues around the world are as ready as possible for the introduction of the UP/UPC system and so we would be pleased to assist you in any way that we can.

联系我们 周冠冲 合伙人 dchew@hlk-ip.com

Daniel Chew

利敏

Li Min

中国代表处首席代表 lmin@hlk-ip.com

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Contact us Partner, Head of Asia Group dchew@hlk-ip.com

Chief Representative China Office lmin@hlk-ip.com

www.hlk-ip.cn