What is the structure of the Unified Patent Court?

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) consists of a decentralised Court of First Instance, with local and regional divisions located in the contracting Member States, a central division seated in Paris, a section in Munich, and a common Court of Appeal seated in Luxembourg. The Registry is set up at the seat of the Court of Appeal. The training centre for judges is located in Budapest; the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) will be located in Lisbon and Ljubljana.

The UPC panels have multinational composition and consist of both legally and technically qualified patent judges. The procedure is designed in a way that judgments at first instance can be expected within approximately one year of filing the action.