Dr. Ingve Björn Stjerna, LL.M.

EU Patent Reform: The structural lack of judicial independence and impartiality at the Unified Patent Court,

Article on shortcomings of the Unified Patent Court with regard to the Rule of Law (Published on 29/12/2025, latest update on 02/01/2026)


Contents:

Despite the well-known legal shortcomings, the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) commenced operations on 01/06/2023. It is clear that the obvious problems will not disappear simply by ignoring them as persistently as possible. Sooner or later, they must and will end up before a constitutional court and/or the CJEU. In this context, a recent decision by the UPC Court of Appeal dated 06/10/2025 (Roku International B.V. et al. v. Dolby International AB et al., UPC_CoA_288/2025 et al.) is very remarkable, in which the court refused the appellants’ request for a referral to the CJEU. The court’s handling of the matter demonstrates not only the protagonists’ fear of a review of the UPCA by the CJEU, but also, in particular, a structural deficit in the independence and impartiality of the UPC judges.

  • Download English version (Article of 29/12/2025, PDF)
  • Download German version (Article of 29/12/2025, PDF)


Sources used:

  • Link to the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court of 06/10/ 2025 in case Roku International B.V. et al ./. Dolby International AB et al
  • Link to CJEU Opinion 1/09 of 08/03/2011.
  • Link to the article Jaeger, All Back To Square One? – An assessment of the latest proposals for a Patent and Court for the Internal Market and pos-sible alternatives, Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law Research Paper No. 12-01.
  • Link to the article Jaeger, What’s in the Unitary Patent Package?, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition Research Paper No. 14-08.
  • Link to CJEU judgment of 14/06/2011 in matter C-196/09 (Paul Miles et al / European Schools).
  • Link to CJEU judgment of 01/10/2017 in matter C-284/16 (Slovak Republic / Achmea BV).
  • Link to CJEU Opinion 1/17 of 30/04/2019.
  • Link to Council document 15856/11 of 21/10/2011.
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – Law-making in camera” (PDF).
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – Council allows access to withheld documents” (PDF).
  • Link to Wikipedia entry on the Council of the European Union.
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – The Gordon/Pascoe Opinion and the UPCA’s incompatibility with Union law” (PDF).
  • Link to the Legal Opinion by Richard Gordon QC and Tom Pascoe “Re the Effect Of »Brexit« on the Unitary Patent Regulation and the Unified Patent Court Agreement” of 12/09/2016 (PDF).
  • Link to the article “No legal obstacles for post-Brexit UK to participate in Unitary Patent system” of 18/09/2016 on the Kluwer Patent Blog.
  • Link to Council document 10630/11 of 26/05/2011.
  • Link to the European Council database on international Agreements relating to the UPCA.
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – The »withdrawn« ratification of the UPCA and its protocols by the United Kingdom” (PDF).
  • Link to Amanda Solloway’s archived statement of 20/07/2020 on the “withdrawal” of the UK’s ratification of the UPCA.
  • Link to German Parliament Printed Matter 19/22847 of 25/09/2020 („Entwurf eines Gesetzes zu dem Übereinkommen vom 19. Februar 2013 über ein Einheitliches Patentgericht“ [“Draft legislation on the Agreement of February 19, 2013, on a Unified Patent Court”).
  • Link to the BMJV Organizational Plan of 14/12/2020.
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – The German Ministry of Justice and the legal scrutiny of the UPCA and the draft legislation for its ratification” (PDF).
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – UPCA participation of the UK despite EU exit?” (PDF).
  • Link to the website of the Administrative Committee of the Unified Patent Court.
  • Link to CJEU judgment of 27/02/2018 in matter C-64/16 (Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses / Tribunal de Contas).
  • Link to the archived press release of the German Federal Court of Justice No. 149/2022 of 20/10/2022 (“Ein Richter und eine Richterin am Bundesgerichtshof werden als Präsident und Richterin am Berufungsgericht des Einheitlichen Patentgerichts tätig“ [“Two judges at the Federal Court of Justice will serve as president and judge at the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court”]).
  • Link to the archived Wikipedia entry on UPC judge Patricia Rombach.
  • Link to the archived UPC website on judge Rian Kalden.


Further material:

  • Link to the post Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – First constitutional complaint against UPCA ratification in Germany”.
  • Link to the article Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – Questions and answers on the German Constitutional Complaint proceedings” (PDF).
  • Link to Stjerna, “Die Verfassungsbeschwerde vom 31.03.2017 gegen die Ratifikation des Übereinkommens über ein Einheitliches Patentgericht – Verfahren 2 BvR 739/17 vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht” (“The constitutional complaint of 31/03/2017 against the ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court – Proceedings 2 BvR 739/17 before the Federal Constitutional Court”), the foreword can be viewed here.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “Patent Law: German Constitutional Court judge Prof. Huber on the situation at the European Patent Office”.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “Patent Law: Constitutional complaints relating to the European Patent Office, access to complaint briefs for the public”.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – The reimbursement of costs in constitutional complaint proceedings 2 BvR 739/17 (UPCA I) – an almost never-ending story”.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – Second constitutional complaint against UPCA ratification in Germany”.
  • Link to Stjerna, “Die Verfassungsbeschwerde vom 18.12.2020 gegen die Ratifikation des Übereinkommens über ein Einheitliches Patentgericht – Verfahren 2 BvR 2217/20 vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht” (“The constitutional complaint of 18/12/2020 against the ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court – Proceedings 2 BvR 2217/20 before the Federal Constitutional Court”), the foreword can be viewed here.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – A comment on the BVerfG’s decision of 23/06/2021 in matter 2 BvR 2217/20”.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “Patent Law: End of the term of office of Constitutional Court judge Prof. Huber – When a constitutional complaint outlasts the twelve-year term of office of the judge responsible for it”.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – Federal Republic of Germany deposits the instrument of ratification for the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court”.
  • Link to the post Stjerna, “The European Patent Reform – The »forgotten« documents of the Preparatory Committee of the Unified Patent Court”.
  • Link to Stjerna, The Parliamentary History of the European “Unitary Patent” (Tredition 2016), the foreword can be viewed here.


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