http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-upc-announces-its-judicial.html
| The leafy premises of the Bundespatentgericht, to be shared by the Central division of the UPC in Munich |
Earlier this week, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) took a step closer towards fruition with the announcement of its judicial appointments and composition of its Praesidium. A total of 85 judges, comprising of 34 legally qualified judges and 51 technically qualified judges, appointed per field of technology, are to take up their duties as of the entry into force of the UPC Agreement.
As with the gender balance at the helm of the Praesidium, thanks to Klaus Grabinski (Germany), President of the Court of Appeal, and Florence Butin (France), President of the Court of First Instance, women’s representation among the legal appointees, at 18/34, is especially noteworthy. The seven appointments to the Court of Appeal include five women, alongside all-female sections of the central division in Munich and the local division in Paris.
Of interest for those looking at the diversity of the court as a litmus test for that of the patent law profession in Europe is that the picture is rather different when it comes to the 51 technically qualified judges. There are just eight female appointees overall (of whom four hail from Germany) and none to either Biotechnology or Electricity.
The UPC comprises a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal and a Registry, and is based on the UPC Agreement. This has been agreed and ratified by Contracting Member States which are EU Member States.
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