A full-day conference on the success of the Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent
EPO Vice-President Christoph Ernst speaking at the ECTA conference
On 5 March 2026, EPO Vice-President Legal and International Affairs Christoph Ernst took part in the European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA) conference “UPC – A Success Story?”, held at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich. The one-day event focused on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) system and its evolving role within the European patent framework.
Bringing together patent and litigation attorneys, in-house counsel, judges and industry representatives, the conference addressed key developments in FRAND and diverging national approaches, the doctrine of equivalence in national and UPC case law, recent UPC decisions, and strategic considerations for drafting and enforcing patent claims with national and unitary effect.
Vice-President Christoph Ernst contributed to the opening session alongside ECTA President Carina Gommers and ECTA Patent Committee Chair F. Peter Müller.
Strong uptake and broad user base
In his welcome address, Vice-President Ernst highlighted the strong uptake of the Unitary Patent system, with more than 80 000 registrations across 18 participating member states.
He underlined that European patentees account for a clear majority of these, and that micro-entities, research institutions and SMEs together represent almost half of all European users. This indicates that the system is being broadly adopted, and not only by major corporations.
Legal certainty and institutional consistency
The high level of legal certainty offered by the system was also underlined. To date, the Unified Patent Court has confirmed every decision issued by the EPO’s Unitary Patent Division, reinforcing alignment between administrative and judicial practice and strengthening predictability for users.
The conference followed a previous meeting between the EPO and ECTA. Discussions covered recent developments at both organisations, including ECTA’s newly established Patent Committee, and addressed future challenges in the European patent system.
About ECTA
ECTA is a leading intellectual property organisation focused on trade marks, designs, patents, geographical indications and copyright. Founded in 1980, ECTA’s membership comprises about 1 300 attorneys, in-house lawyers or IP specialists across all EU member states, with associate members from more than 50 countries worldwide.
ECTA recently established a dedicated Patent Committee to address emerging challenges and contribute to policy discussions. This committee actively engages with European institutions and industry stakeholders on topics such as the EU Patent Package, Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs), Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), compulsory licences and enforcement matters, including the UPC.
