Applicant v Registrar (CoA, 16 July 2026, doc. 2)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By order of 16 July 2026, the President of the Court of Appeal dismissed a petition by a European patent attorney, whose identity is not published, against the Registrar’s decision of 26 January 2026 refusing to enter him on the list of representatives under Art. 48(2) UPCA. The applicant relied on a CEIPI diploma and a postgraduate diploma from the University of Warsaw. The order matters for patent attorneys who have not yet applied for registration: the transitional regime of Rule 12.1 of the Rules on the European Patent Litigation Certificate (EPLC Rules) no longer assists requests made after the one-year period following 1 June 2023.

Question

Can a patent attorney holding a diploma on the transitional list of Rule 12.1 EPLC Rules be registered when applying in July 2025, and is re-establishment of rights available?

Decision

The diplomas related to courses listed in Rule 12.1(a) and were obtained before 31 December 2020, but they count as an appropriate qualification only for one year from the entry into force of the UPCA (paragraph 10). The request, which is not subject to any time limit, was admissible (paragraph 11), but the temporal condition of Rule 12.1 was not met (paragraph 12). That regime does not infringe legal certainty, equality, proportionality or the freedom to pursue a profession, since the applicant may still obtain the certificate or a qualification under Rule 11 (paragraphs 13 and 14). The EPLC Rules contain no provision for re-establishment of rights and do not refer to Rule 320 RoP, even if that rule applied, due care had not been shown and the request would have been late (paragraphs 15 to 18).

Key points for practice

• Since the one-year transitional period expired, diplomas on the Rule 12.1 EPLC Rules list no longer allow a European patent attorney to be entered on the list of representatives (paragraphs 10 to 12).
• Re-establishment of rights under Rule 320 RoP cannot make up for the expiry of that transitional regime (paragraphs 15 to 18).

Provisions applied

Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

Art. 48(2) and (3)

Rules of Procedure

Rules 286.2 and 320

European Patent Convention

Art. 134

Other provisions

Rules on the European Patent Litigation Certificate, Rules 11, 12.1, 12.2, 13, 14 and 19.2

Prepared by Dhenne Avocats from the official decision, consulted on 10 October 2026. The database is updated every week, on Friday. Only the official text is authoritative.