Trends emerging as the UPC enters its third year  

The one-stop-shop for European patent litigation, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) celebrated its two year anniversary on 1 June 2025. Now in its third year of operation, we look at the themes, trends and practices that are developing in this new forum in our latest UPC briefing The UPC – Two years on.

The so called "long arm jurisdiction" of the UPC is certainly one of those themes, with the recent of the Mannheim LD in Fujifilm v Kodak (CFI 365/2023, 18 July 2025) in which the court awarded an injunction over infringement in the UK (relating to the UK designation of an EP bundle) illustrating the UPC's tendency to take jurisdiction wherever possible.

We also review other specific developments in the 6 months since our last UPC briefing (The UPC at 18 months - available via links within the current one) including the UPC's first decision involving a second medical use patent and the approach it has taken to such patents, and an analysis of the multiple SEPs-based disputes (including the use of anti-anti-suit injunctions) and the implications for FRAND determinations, as well as a round-up of other developments including on:

• Jurisdiction over pre-UPC infringements and damages and the applicable law, and the impact of opt-out (and its withdrawal)
• Criteria for PIs
• Claim interpretation and the UPC's doctrine of equivalence
• Determining imminent infringement
• Novelty – the “legal standard”; Inventive step/Obviousness; Added matter
• Stays and suspensive effect
• Security
• Access to pleadings