The London branch of the Unified Patent Court is to open in December, according to the preparatory committee working to set it up. The court will hear cases involving unified patents, a new EU-wide form of patent. The government indicated in November that it would ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement, despite current uncertainties over the UK’s Brexit negotiations. The court will operate under EU law. Its main courts will be in the UK, France and Germany.
19 January 2017
Unified Patent Court to open in December
MOVERS & SHAKERS
NLJ Career Profile: Nikki Bowker, Devonshires
Nikki Bowker, head of litigation and dispute resolution at Devonshires, on career resilience, diversity in law and channelling Elle Woods when the pressure is on
Ellisons—Sarah Osborne
Leasehold enfranchisement specialist joins residential property team
DWF—Chris Air
Firm strengthens commercial team in Manchester with partner appointment
NEWS
Contract damages are usually assessed at the date of breach—but not always. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Gascoigne, knowledge lawyer at LexisNexis, examines the growing body of cases where courts have allowed later events to reshape compensation
The Supreme Court has restored ‘doctrinal coherence’ to unfair prejudice litigation, writes Natalie Quinlivan, partner at Fieldfisher LLP, in this week' NLJ
The High Court’s refusal to recognise a prolific sperm donor as a child’s legal parent has highlighted the risks of informal conception arrangements, according to Liam Hurren, associate at Kingsley Napley, in NLJ this week
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts
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