Das Einheitliche Patentgericht am Beginn seiner eigenständigen Rechtsprechung

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) applies diverse sets of uniform international law: The European Patent Convention (EPC) that determines the validity of European patents, the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) that governs infringement, enforcement and revocation of these patents, and EU Reg. 1257/2012 on the European patent with unitary effect. The interpretation of these rules of uniform law follows a principle of autonomous interpretation the meaning of which varies according to the nature of these rules and the context of their ap-plication. As regards convention law, the principle requires rethinking traditional concepts of patent law; as regards Reg. 1257/2012, the concepts of interpretation of Union law apply. The latter may overshadow the former; the Leitmotiv is to ensure that patent protection contributes to attaining the objectives of the Internal Market (Art. 3(3) TEU). Illustrative cases concern the representation of parties before the UPC, the liability of managing directors for patent infringement, and the territorial limitation of prior user rights.