The Doctrine of Equivalents at the Unified Patent Court : A Comparative Analysis of the Main EPC Jurisdictions and a Shot at Harmonization.

Journal article

1 electronic resource (page 331-341)

The purpose of this analysis is to offer insights on how the recently established Unified Patent Court (‘UPC’) – particularly the Court of Appeal in Luxembourg – might apply the Doctrine of Equivalents (‘DoE’). The answer to this question will affect, in a concrete manner, the scope of protection of most patents (with the exception of national patents) litigated in countries subject to the UPC and greatly influence members of the broader EPC, with evident practical consequences. Specifically, the following work seeks to address this query by looking in turn at the policy considerations underlying the DoE, at the legal framework binding the UPC, and at the jurisprudence on the DoE of the main EPC countries (in order: Germany, UK, France, The Netherlands and Italy). Finally, drawing from the above findings, a number of informed assumptions are made, setting out what is most likely to be expected from the UPC.

Crossref

GRUR International ; 74, 4, 2025, 2632-8550.

[Oxford, England] : Oxford University Press (OUP), 2025.

English

https://academic.oup.com/grurint/article/72/3/231/6998505

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