Italy has signed an agreement with the Unified Patent Court (UPC) formalizing the cooperation to bring the third seat of the UPC Central Division to Milan. The agreement was signed in Milan between the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UPC, represented by the President of the Court of Appeals Klaus Grabinski, in the presence of representatives of the other ministries involved (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, and Ministry of Economy and Finance), as well as representatives of the UPC Italian judges. The press release from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is available at this link.

The agreement is a further step in the ongoing work to start up the third seat of the Central Division of the UPC in Milan. This is expected to open its doors as planned in the summer of 2024, exactly one year after the unanimous decision of the UPC Administrative Committee establishing the Milan seat to replace the London seat.

Once operational, the Milan seat will have jurisdiction over patent disputes in the “human necessities” sector, comprising the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, the agricultural industry, the food industry, the tobacco industry, the home appliances industry, the clothing industry, the wood and furniture industry, the fire-fighting industry, the sports and gaming industry.