Milan confirmed for UPC central division

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Milan confirmed for UPC central division

milan.jpg

The Milan central division will be open next year but there is no final deal on what cases it will hear

The third seat of the Unified Patent Court’s central division will be hosted in Milan, the Italian government announced yesterday, May 18.

The Milan central division seat will be operational within one year and will not be ready for the UPC’s June 1 opening, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

But it is still not clear which cases the Milan division will hear.

It emerged earlier this year that the French government wanted the Paris division to take on the highest-profile life sciences cases, which were originally intended to go to London.

The statement did not mention any agreement on the caseload that would be allocated to Milan.

Laura Orlando, joint global head of intellectual property at Herbert Smith Freehills in Milan, said the news was especially welcome after a UPC statement on the central division earlier this week omitted any mention of Milan.

The UPC confirmed on Tuesday, May 16, that the Paris and Munich seats of the central division would initially share London’s caseload when the court opened on June 1.

The statement indicated no deal had been reached on a third seat to replace Milan.

“The announcement of that provisional split, in the absence of any reference to Milan, had led many readers and part of the Italian press to think that Italy would no longer have the third seat,” Orlando said.

She said the initial split of remits between the divisions would be reviewed in 2026, at the request of the Italian government.

“This is a great achievement for the Italian IP and life sciences community, as much as for Milan and Italy.

“We have eventually arrived at the result that we have been working on for years,” she said.

Milan had, for months, been the only contender to replace London after the UK withdrew from the UPC in 2020.

The path was seemingly clear when the Netherlands dropped out as part of a deal with the Italian government, as confirmed by Managing IP last July.

But Milan’s chances seemed uncertain at several points.

Some lawyers speculated that the collapse of Mario Draghi’s government last year might endanger relations with EU colleagues.

And the news that the French government wanted to keep the highest-profile life sciences cases for Paris did little to reassure lawyers in Italy.

The proposal to award the third central division seat will be submitted to the UPC administrative committee for formal approval at its next meeting.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Paul Hastings and Smart & Biggar also won multiple awards, while Baker McKenzie picked up a significant prize
Burford Capital study finds that in-house lawyers have become more likely to monetise patents, but that their IP portfolios are still underutilised
Robert Reading and Faidon Zisis at Clarivate unpick some of the data surrounding music-related trademarks
China's latest IP litigation statistics and a high-profile hire by O'Melveny were also among the top talking points this week
David Aylen, who spent more than 20 years at Gowling WLG, has joined United Trademark and Patent Services as of counsel in the UAE
Europe is among the most lucrative legal markets for PE firms to bet on, but clients’ reactions will decide whether external investment drives success
Rulings of note covered pre-June 2023 infringements and jurisdiction over non-UPC states, while winners of Managing IP’s EMEA Awards acted in multiple cases
Jason Blair, a former special marks examiner, said Dykema’s Texas presence will help him build deeper connections with clients
Lee Curtis and Rachel Platts at HGF discuss the rise of the ‘intention economy’ and its impact on trademark law
Martin Wintermeier discusses taking a hit for clients, not letting stress get to you, and why being a criminal defence lawyer might have been fun
Gift this article