This article discusses the newly established Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), highlights certain issues about the judicial review of PMAC arbitral awards in annulment proceedings, and suggests three workarounds.
The PMAC was established in 2023 by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) and it is expected to become fully operational by early 2026. Being the output of the enhanced cooperation among 17 EU Member States, the UPCA is not an EU legal instrument; it is an international treaty instead.
PMAC’s objective is the administration of patent mediations and arbitrations falling wholly or in part within the competence of the UPC, which is entrusted with the resolution of disputes on classical European patents and European patents with unitary effect.
