The inaugural CIPA UPC Conference is taking place on Thursday 11 September, and we are delighted to be heavily involved.

The Conference is not only being chaired by Rob Jackson, Dehns Partner and founder and chair of CIPA’s UPC Committee, but also Conor Wilman, Dehns Associate, has been invited to speak by the organisers, some of whom have worked with Conor on UPC cases.

The one-day event is dedicated to exploring the ever-increasing importance and impact of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), and the role of UK patent attorneys within this system. The list of guest speakers is truly impressive and includes:

  • Judge Emmanuel Gougé, UPC Court of Appeal
  • Judge Ronny Thomas, UPC Local Division (Düsseldorf)
  • Judge Anna-Lena Kelin, UPC Central Division (Milan)
  • Judge Max Tilmann, UPC Technical Judge
  • Professor Willem Hoyng, the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Unified Patent Court

Rob has appeared before the UPC, including the Oral Hearing of the first case to be filed at Paris Central Division, and also before its Court of Appeal.

Conor has represented clients before the Court since its inception in 2023 and has defended clients in actions before both the Paris Central Division and also the Nordic-Baltic Regional Division. One such case was Bitzer v Carrier, one of the first revocation actions to be decided by the Court. As a regular contributor to the CIPA Journal on UPC case law development, Conor will be providing his insights and reporting on case law trends and hot topics alongside Naoise Gafney, Of Counsel and UPC Director at Bristows LLP.