On 19 October 2022, 85 judges were appointed to the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Starting 1 April 2023, this new court will decide on litigation procedures in both European patents and unitary patents, in 17 European countries. V.O. is pleased to announce that patent attorney and partner Bernard Ledeboer is appointed as part time technically qualified judge.
After months of speculation, the UPC Administrative Committee has finally announced its list of judges. In addition to the 34 legally qualified judges, 51 technically qualified judges are also part of the court. These have been extensively selected based on their experience with patent litigation in a specific field of technology.
Prominent names
Of the appointed judges, 8 percent are from the Netherlands. These include a number of prominent Dutch judges; Rian Kalden, Peter Blok, Edger Brinkman and Margot Kokke. We are proud that Bernard Ledeboer, patent attorney and partner at V.O. Patents & Trademarks, has also been appointed part time as a technically qualified judge for the Unified Patent Court in the Mechanical Engineering sector. This makes him the only delegate working at a Dutch firm. In addition András Kupecz and Cornelis Schüller from the Netherlands have been appointed as part time technically qualified judges.
Harmonization of the European judicial system
The Unified Patent Court marks a historic moment in the European judicial system. It is the first court to rule on civil litigation involving multiple countries. This is seen as an important step towards the further harmonization of the judicial system in Europe. The Unified Patent Court is expected to be operational 1 April 2023.
Would you like to learn more about the Unified Patent Court and the Unitary Patent? Read more on our dossier page.
