UPC highly popular with Chinese and US claimants
The UPC has published its second annual report — and it offers far more than a dry summary of decisions. With its almost personal tone and visual language, the report puts faces to the people who breathe life into the court's Rules of Procedure. As a European court and a flagship integration project, the UPC remains a dream venture for much of the patent community. The report is essential reading for anyone seeking an overview of the court's key rulings, but equally for those curious about the people shaping this ambitious project day by day.
7 May 2026 by Christina Schulze
The team behind the UPC has every right to be proud. Just three years after its launch, the UPC has overcome its biggest criticism from users — the much-maligned CMS has been completely overhauled. “The successful launch of the Court’s new Case Management System marked a major milestone, showcasing the effectiveness of close cooperation between the UPC, the European Patent Office and user organisations,” comments Alexander Ramsay, registrar of the UPC.
In a recent interview with JUVE Patent, Klaus Grabinski, president of the Court of Appeal, emphasised, “The case management system is absolutely crucial, as the UPC defines itself as an electronic court. It’s worth noting that the Presidium took the decision to replace the system after a relatively short time and did so with great success, and to the great satisfaction of users.”
Investing in the future
This is a worthwhile investment for the future viability of the court. Before users and judges could completely lose track of the first CMS, the court replaced it. Users have thanked the court with many new cases. “During the past months, the UPC consolidated its reputation as a trustworthy court that received, at first instance, since its launch and as of 31 December 2025, 494 infringement actions, 415 counterclaims for revocation, 88 standalone revocation actions, 91 applications for provisional measures and 43 applications for preserving evidence, for inspection or to freeze assets,” summarises Florence Butin, president of the Court of First Instance, in her foreword to the UPC’s second annual report. At the same time, she rightly emphasises that the court’s staffing is also keeping pace with the increasing demands and the court is taking on new judges.
Florence Butin
After successive phases of recruitment — including a judge from the Court of First Instance being appointed to the Court of Appeal — responding to urgent needs, the UPC now has sufficient distance and experience to better anticipate the new appointments required based on trends in case filing. The court can now suggest to the Administrative Committee to schedule calls for candidacies accordingly.
Who are the users?
UPC newcomers will also find the section on the most important decisions from the 2,500 orders and decisions of the first instance from page 24 interesting. The compilation of the central decisions of the Court of Appeal from page 58 is also worth reading.
The most interesting information, however, is in the statistics section at the end of the report. Who actually uses the UPC?
The top three countries of origin of claimants reveal the court’s international appeal. Of the claimants, 54 come from Germany, 52 from the US and 20 from China. Chinese companies are also in fourth place in terms of the nationality of the defendants.
This is good news for the UPC in its initial phase, half of which is now over.
