JUVE Patent discloses nominees for UPC Firm of the Year 2026
JUVE Patent will publish its second UPC litigation ranking next week. Furthermore, the winner of the JUVE Patent Award UPC Firm of the Year 2026 will be revealed. These are the four litigation firms nominated for the award.
3 December 2025 by Mathieu Klos
Ever since the European court opened its doors, JUVE Patent has closely observed the emergence of a UPC litigation market. On 10 December, JUVE Patent will publish its second ranking for UPC litigation.
While comprehensively researching the ranking, JUVE Patent journalists have also kept a keen eye out for patent law firms that have shown particularly dynamic and strategically successful development, in terms of their start at the new court and their successes in specific UPC cases.
The selected nominees for the JUVE Patent Award UPC Firm of the Year 2026 are:
- Arnold Ruess
- Carpmaels & Ransford
- Clifford Chance
- Eisenführ Speiser
The focus lies on European patent firms with UPC representatives. The winner will be revealed next week when the UPC ranking is published. Until then, find out which firms made the cut in last year’s ranking.
International breadth
The German UPC divisions have so far attracted the most cases. Accordingly, there are once again several German law firms among this year’s nominees. However, as in the previous year, the award demonstrates that UPC business is internationally orientated.
In Carpmaels & Ransford, a UK law firm has once again made it into the exclusive list of nominees. Furthermore, nominee Clifford Chance added a partner in Paris in 2025 and acts as an international team in UPC litigation.
As a rule, the award is not based on the sheer number of cases law firms have, but on how dynamically they have prepared for the new business and what particular successes they have achieved since the UPC launched.
Who will succeed Powell Gilbert?
Just a year ago, JUVE Patent announced the winner of the first ever JUVE Patent Award for UPC litigation. The winner was UK-based firm Powell Gilbert.
The firm had an outstanding start at the UPC, despite many Brexit-related disadvantages for UK firms. Powell Gilbert came out on top in a strong group of nominees that included Kather Augenstein, Thum & Partner, Torggler & Hofmann, and Vossius & Brinkhof UPC Litigators.
JUVE Awards for Germany
For many years now, the JUVE editorial team has presented awards to IP teams in Germany. The categories are In-house Team of the Year for Patent and Patent Law Firm of the Year. This year, these awards went to BASF and Wildanger Kehrwald Graf von Schwerin & Partner, respectively.
In contrast to the JUVE Patent UPC Award, the JUVE Awards recognise dynamic developments and achievements in the German patent market only. The JUVE Patent Award UPC Firm of the Year is now the third patent-related award, but it is the only one to honour the European market.
Second UPC ranking
JUVE Patent has been observing and analysing European law firms’ preparations for the UPC for many years. Since 1 June 2023, the editorial team has closely observed their work on UPC cases.
Our intensive reporting on these cases, attendance of oral hearings and our research into the important European patent markets of Austria, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia form the basis for this ranking and the selection of nominees.
As in all JUVE Patent ranking research, the editorial team draws on information and recommendations from hundreds of interviews as well as written surveys from clients and law firms. Unlike in previous years, JUVE Patent will in future nominate four law firms rather than five for its awards.
