Local and central divisions (UPC)

The Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court comprises Local and Regional Divisions and a Central Division. Local Divisions serve individual Contracting Member States; a Regional Division is shared by participating states. The Central Division has its seat in Paris and sections in Munich and Milan. Allocation of cases is governed principally by Article 33 UPCA.

Local and Regional Divisions

Infringement actions and applications for provisional relief may be brought before a competent Local or Regional Division on the grounds specified in the Agreement, including the place of actual or threatened infringement and the defendant’s residence or relevant place of business. The precise connecting factors must be checked rather than inferred from a party’s commercial presence alone.

A Local or Regional Division hearing an infringement action has several options when a counterclaim for revocation is brought. Under Article 33(3), it may hear both claims with a technically qualified judge, refer the revocation counterclaim to the Central Division while proceeding with or staying the infringement action, or refer the whole case with the parties’ agreement.

The multinational composition of panels is governed by Article 8. It does not mean that every Local Division panel necessarily consists of three different nationalities. France hosts a Local Division in Paris.

The Central Division

Standalone revocation actions and actions for declarations of non-infringement generally fall to the Central Division, subject to the related-proceedings rules in Article 33. For defendants without the residence or place of business specified in Article 33(1) within a Contracting Member State, the Agreement also provides routes involving the relevant Local or Regional Division or the Central Division.

Cases are allocated between the Central Division’s seat and sections under the applicable technical allocation rules. This allocation should be checked against the current framework and the classification of the patent; a reference to the original London section is outdated.

Choosing a division

Forum analysis combines jurisdiction, the infringement territory, parallel proceedings, procedural language, technical subject matter and the available remedies. A perceived difference in practice does not override the jurisdictional rules, and the location of a division does not itself predict an outcome.

For related issues, see revocation actions, declarations of non-infringement and the UPC Court of Appeal.

Related resources

UPC Litigation Watch · Unified Patent Court

Dhenne Avocats represents clients in patent disputes before the French courts and the UPC. Discuss a dispute with the firm.

This glossary entry provides general information and is not advice on an individual matter.