Two UK law firms announced new office openings in Dublin ahead of today’s formal launch of a new Unified Patent Court for Europe.

The court creates a single patent jurisdiction across a significant portion of the European market. Some 17 EU member states are initially participating, with a further seven countries still to ratify. The UK government formally withdrew from the UPC in July 2020 following Brexit. 

City law firm Bristows announced it will open a new hub in Dublin. Myles Jelf, joint head of patent litigation at Bristows, said the firm had worked 'very closely' in the development of the UPC. 'We had people appointed as judges and experts, so we’ve taken it very seriously for a long time,' Jelf said.

IP law firm Powell Gilbert also announced it was launching a Dublin office, to support the firm’s work in advising and representing clients before the UPC. The firm will operate in Ireland as Powell Gilbert (Europe) LLP, with each of the firm’s 14 partners admitted to practise in Ireland.

Dr Penny Gilbert, partner at Powell Gilbert, said: 'It has always been our intention to participate fully in the UPC, which we believe is of enormous strategic importance to clients. We are actively working with clients on their UPC strategies and filings in preparation for the UPC start date.'

The UK government withdrew from the UPC because a court that applies EU law and is bound by the CJEU was 'clearly inconsistent with our objective of becoming an independent self-governing nation’, a spokesperson said at the time of the withdrawal. Julia Florence, from the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, told a parliamentary select committee that the decision was 'extremely disappointing to the whole of our profession and businesses'.

Hailed as one of the most significant developments in international IP dispute resolution in the last 40 years, the UPC suffered another setback in 2020 when German ratification was ruled unconstitutional. Germany finally ratified the UPC agreement in February this year. 

In a statement today Klaus Grabinski, president of the UPC Court of Appeal, said:  'The Unified Patent Court, that opens its digital doors as of today, will be the first court in civil and commercial matters shared by a multitude of EU Member States before which companies, non-commercial organisations and individuals can litigate. More specifically, the Court will make it possible to enforce a European patent across borders before only one court in only one infringement proceeding.

'The panels deciding on the cases will have an international composition of legally qualified judges who, most of the time, will be joined by a technically qualified judge. Due to its European structure and the quality of its judges most of which have a background as experienced patent judges in the national jurisdictions, it can be expected that the Court will contribute to the development of a coherent and harmoniced understanding of European patent law.'