After years of talk and preparation the European patent and patent litigation landscape will on June 1st undergo its biggest change in decades as the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court come into being. The talk will recap on some of the key features of the new system as well as offer some best guesses of how the system will settle-down.

Key Learning Outcomes:
-Unitary Patent - why opt-in or opt-out
-Unified Patent Court structure
-Choice of forum and language
-When to choose the UPC over national courts

Speaker: David Knight, Partner, Brown Rudnick

David Knight is a partner in the Brown Rudnick’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, based in the firm's London office. His practice covers the full range of IP rights (patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, etc.) particularly where such rights are technical in character. The main focus of his practice is patent law. He advises on and conducts both offensive and defensive litigation of patent rights, patent infringement avoidance, commercial exploitation and acquisition, and how to use patents for competitive advantage. Often this is done on a multi-jurisdictional basis and covers a wide variety of technologies including renewable energy, aerospace, medical devices, scientific instrumentation, blockchain, oil and gas, printing, computer games, household products, construction, and cleantech.

David has a degree in electronic engineering and practiced as an engineer for a number of years before moving into the law and qualifying as a solicitor.