Separated, united or a bit of both? Infringement and validity at the Unified Patent Court.

This article examines the interplay between patent infringement and validity proceedings under the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), contrasting it with the German patent system’s separation principle, where infringement and validity are adjudicated by different courts. The UPCA establishes a hybrid system granting the Unified Patent Court (UPC) exclusive jurisdiction over both infringement and revocation actions, with Local and Regional Divisions primarily handling infringement and the Central Division focusing on revocation, but allowing for counterclaims on validity within infringement proceedings. While the UPC permits bifurcation by referring validity counterclaims to the Central Division, practical and procedural considerations suggest that joint hearings by the same panel are generally preferred to avoid delays and inconsistent rulings. The article also discusses transitional arrangements allowing parallel national and UPC jurisdiction and highlights that the UPC’s integrated approach may influence future reforms of national bifurcated systems like Germany’s.