UWith respect to ongoing performance issues of the CMS system, the UPC has released a communication on a Worst Case Scenario concerning the filing of Opt-Out requests.
Indeed, under such extraordinary circumstances the UPC will allow the filing of Opt-Out requests in form of a “hard copy”.
In a nutshell, the following points appear to be most remarkable in this context for every practitioner:
- The UPC will allow such “hard copy” filing only after a corresponding notification by the UPC on its website that the CMS is not functional. Only after such notification, the “hard copy” filing will be admissible.
- The “hard copy” refers to a USB stick hardware which shall contain all necessary files in specific format, a.o. pdf-files as well as an Excel-File with a list of the Opt-Outs to be recorded, and a corresponding print out with an overview of all patents being concerned.
The full news release can be found here: https://www.unified-patent-court.org/en/news/upc-informs-about-eligibility-lodging-opt-out-applications-hard-copy-form