The language of the training will be English. The course will be limited to a small group of participants (maximum 30). This small number of participants will facilitate interactivity, discussion, and exchange of practices.
Duration of the course is 120 hours as it corresponds to the minimum officially required to obtain the EPLC.
Description of training activities
Key dates
Face-to-face training
Online training
Examination
Modules
Content
Training activities
MODULE 1
BASICS OF EU LAW
Part 1
(Part 2 will be offered online)
Roles of the CJEU in the context of the UPC/national courts
Training on the role of the CJEU
Dinner and a night in Trier
Transport to CJEU in Luxembourg, briefing and hearing, guided tour of the CJEU
MODULE 4
THE UNITARY
PATENT:
REGULATIONS 1257/2012 and 1260/2012
Enhanced cooperation
Translation regime
Unitary character
Coexistence with national systems
Rights conferred and limitations
Licences
Exhaustion
Role of EPO
Interactive sessions/
practical exercises
MODULE 6
INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIFIED
PATENT COURT
Legal status of the UPC
Sources of law applicable to the UPC
Structure of the Court and the divisions
Jurisdiction and competences
Transitional period
The link between the UPC and the unitary patent
Interactive sessions/
practical exercises
MODULE 7
INTRODUCTION TO THE UPC RULES OF PROCEDURE
General rules before the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal, including official codes of conduct: formal requirements, parties, and representation as well as intervention, calculation of time periods, fees and legal aids, stay of proceedings
The language regime
Procedure before the Court of First instance
Procedure before the Court of Appeal
Enforcement of decisions
Court costs
Interactive sessions/
practical exercises
MODULE 8
PRACTICE AND CASE MANAGEMENT BEFORE THE UPC
Preparing for written procedure: infringement actions, revocation actions, actions for declaration of non-infringement, actions for compensation for licences
Advice on settlement
Preparing for Interim procedure
Preparing for oral procedure
Producing evidence: witnesses and experts, means of evidence
Asking provisional measures (injunctions, preservation of evidence) and filing a protective letter
Raising language issues
Application for leave to appeal and procedure before the Court of Appeal
Damages actions
Interactive sessions/
practical exercises including mock trials, role play and advocacy exercises
Evolution and constitutional foundations of the EU
Scope of the EU’s competences
Legal acts of the EU, the hierarchy among them and their legal value
Other sources of EU law (general principles, jurisprudence) and their role in the legal system
Roles of the various institutions in the EU decision-making process and the decision-making itself
Application of EU law
Fundamental rights in the EU legal order and in the ECHR/li>
Relevant substantive law of the EU (internal market and the four freedoms)
E-presentations and
tutorials
MODULE 2
PRIVATE LAW
International jurisdiction: Brussels I and Brussels Ibis
Cross-border enforcement of judgments
Alternative Dispute Resolution with a special focus on Online Dispute Resolution
Applicable law to contracts and torts: Rome I and Rome II
Private law, especially contract law and tort law, including aspects of European, continental and common law
Private International law on transfer of IP rights and accessory rights (priority rights)
E-presentations and
tutorials
MODULE 3
PATENT LAW IN THE EU
Biotechnological inventions and plant variety rights: law and case law from the CJEU
Supplementary protection certificates: law and case law from the CJEU
Competition law and patent law (focus on high technologies and pharmaceutical sectors): patent settlements and patent abuse under Article 102TFEU, compulsory licences, FRANDS, agreements contrary to Article 101 TFEU, unfair competition
Relationship between patent law and other IP rights: copyright, design, utility models, trade secrets
European harmonisation of patent law and other IP Rights as a result of TRIPS under the jurisdiction of the CJEU
E-presentations and
Tutorials
MODULE 5
ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS
Civil and border measures: Directive 2004/48 and Regulation 608/2013
Procedural rules of the EU criminal justice framework and Institutional issues and cooperation mechanisms (Europol, Eurojust, EJN)
Cross border patent infringement
Patent infringement and patent nullity proceedings in several contracting Member States
Litigation patent strategies in Europe
E-presentations and
Tutorials
EXAMINATION
Written examination: Multiple choice questions, as well as drafting of procedural acts, submissions, drafting decisions based on case materials
Online examination: quiz and prepared works (e.g. mock trial briefs and written assignments)
