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
- Visit to the Court of Appeal of the UPC and meeting with a judge
|
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
|
| EXAMINATION | - Written examination
- Oral examination
| |
| | |
| Modules | Content | Training activities |
MODULE 1
Part 2
BASICS OF EU LAW
| - 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) |
| | |
The oral examination will take place on the last day of the course.
The full examination will take the following form:
Portfolio
evaluation of assignments, draft decisions, peer review, and other submissions during the course period | Oral examination
cross-examination by a jury and other party in order to assess the knowledge and skills in litigation | Written examination
multiple choice questions, drafting of procedural acts or submissions, drafting of decisions based on case material (using TestVision) |
- EPLC Course 2025-2026
- EPLC Course 2024-2025
| Face-to-face training | | | |
| 225D44 | 25-26 September 2025 | Module 1 – Part 1: introductory course
| Trier |
| 226D005 | 9-13 February 2026 | Modules 4 and 6 | Trier |
| 226D006 | 18-22 May 2026 | Modules 7 and 8 and examination | Trier |
| Online training | | | |
| 226EB | Oct 2025 - 31 May 2026 | European Patent Litigation Certificate
(Online Tutorial) | Online |
| Face-to-face training | | | |
| 224D57 | 25-26 September 2024 | EPLC registrations for serie 2024-2025
and introductory course
Programme
Module 1 – Part 1
| Trier |
| 225D03 | 10-14 February 2025 | European Patent Litigation Certificate
(second face to face session, Modules 4 and 6) | Trier |
| 225D04 | 12-16 May 2025 | European Patent Litigation Certificate
(third face to face session, Modules 7 and 8 and examination) | Trier |
| Online training | | | |
| 225EB01 | 1 Oct 2024 - 31 May 2025 | European Patent Litigation Certificate
(Online Tutorial) | Online |
