Tuesday
June 10th, 2025
4.00PM CET
Tuesday
June 10th, 2025
4.00PM CET
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is a Court, comprising judges from all participating Member States of the EU. It is set up to decide in particular on the infringement and validity of both Unitary Patents and classic European Patents. The UPC is a Court common to currently eighteen EU Member States for which the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) has entered into force on 1 June 2023.
This special Global Digital Encounter celebrates the two years of the Court. At times marked by a revival of international tensions faced by Europe, including on the worldwide IP System, the Unified Patent Court marks a major European IP success story, widely acknowledged. The President of the Court of Appeal and chairperson of the Presidium, Klaus Grabinski, will discuss with Professor Manuel Desantes, University of Alicante and former Vice-President of the EPO, and Attorney at Law Tomasz Gawlicek, Patent and Trademark Attorney in Poland, on the growing success of the UPC and its fast achievements at age 2, not only for its Member States but also, on positive trends and opportunities for Right Holders in EU countries that can join the system in the future, and for Right Holders all over the world.
President of the Unified Patent Court
Patent attorney, Attorney-at-law
Professor of Private International Law at the University of Alicante and former Vice-President of the EPO.
Tuesday, June 10th, 2025 | 4.00 pm CEST
Klaus GRABINSKI (Germany)
Klaus Grabinski studied law at the Universities of Trier, Geneva and Cologne. He passed the 1st and 2nd state examination in 1988 and 1992. He was a university assistant and received a Doctor Iuris from Trier University in 1991.
He served on the German Federal Court of Justice’s 10th Civil Division, including as the Deputy Presiding Justice of the Division that has, inter alia, jurisdiction on patent litigation matters. Before joining the German Federal Court of Justice in 2009, he held a number of judicial roles, including as a presiding judge of a patent litigation division at the Düsseldorf Regional Court and as a judge at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
He was an external legally qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office.
Since November 2022, Klaus Grabinski serves as President of the Court of Appeal and chairperson of the Presidium of the Unified Patent Court.
Tomasz Gawlicek (Poland)
Dr. Tomasz Gawliczek is an expert in intellectual property protection with over ten years of professional experience. He offers comprehensive support to entrepreneurs in all phases of IP disputes, including strategy development, settlement negotiations, and representation before industrial property offices (the Polish Patent Office and EUIPO), as well as civil and administrative courts. His significant experience ranks him among Poland’s top attorneys appearing before the EU General Court in trademark and design matters.
Dr. Gawliczek holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Wrocław, where he completed his full-time doctoral studies. His award-winning dissertation, “Trademark Protection in Polish Economic Criminal Law,” received the Minister of Development and Technology’s prize in the 20th competition organized by the Polish Patent Office for the best academic work on intellectual property. He also lectures on criminal law in a patent attorney training program.
As one of the first Polish lawyers to graduate from the specialist postgraduate studies at the University of Strasbourg in France, Dr. Gawliczek is well-versed in cross-border patent disputes in Europe and is prepared to represent clients before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
Dr. Gawliczek regularly contributes to media discussions and publishes articles on contemporary intellectual property topics. He brings extensive teaching and training experience, having lectured at universities and presented at national and international conferences on gaming, e-commerce, and life sciences.
In 2022, Dr. Gawliczek earned 3rd place in the prestigious “Rising Stars Lawyers – Leaders of Tomorrow” competition organized by Wolters Kluwer Poland. He is also consistently recognized in international IP rankings, including MIP IP Stars and IAM Patent 1000.
Prof. Manuel DESANTES REAL (Spain)
He holds a Professor’s Chair at the Faculty of Law of the University of Alicante (Spain) since 1992. He has been Vice-President of the European Patent Office (Munich) from 2001 to 2008, Vice-Chancellor and Rector in acting of the University of Alicante from 1996 to 1998 and Member of the Legal Service of the European Commission between 1998 and 2001. In 1994 he founded the Magister Lvcentinvs (Master in Intellectual and Industrial Property) at the University of Alicante.
Former member Of Counsel at ELZABURU. Member of the Foundation Eisenhower, amongst others. He has published seven books and more than one hundred research papers and has delivered a full course at The Hague Academy of International Law in July 2019. Member of Fide’s Academic Council.
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