White Paper on Patent Arbitration

The Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre of the Unified Patent Court (PMAC) will be inaugurated on 2 June — the most significant development in European patent dispute resolution since the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

As PMAC arbitration is grounded in party agreement, a single proceeding can cover patents validated anywhere in the world — well beyond the UPC’s jurisdiction. At the same time, the PMAC is an integral part of the UPC. That link gives parties a novel enforcement route: awards confirmed by the UPC become directly enforceable across all EU Member States, alongside the global reach of the New York Convention. The PMAC Arbitration Rules also contain patent-specific provisions, including a dedicated FRAND framework.

Our new White Paper sets out how the PMAC works, where it offers an edge over litigation, and what companies should do now.

For questions, Friedrich Rosenfeld, Jan Heiner Nedden and Nico Gielen are happy to assist.