How UPC-Intel Works
A plain-English guide to European patent court data, docket numbers, judicial panels, and patent register statuses. Learn where our records come from, what each field means, and how to track cases that impact your practice.
Four Ways to Access Intelligence
Whether you are an IP litigator tracking active dockets or an in-house counsel screening competitors, UPC-Intel adapts to your workflow.
1. The Web Platform
Browse recent European patent decisions, see the decisions we hold by judge and by law firm, and search across patents, parties, and courts.
- ✓ Search across everything we hold (guests see the first results)
- ✓ Decisions by judge and cases by law firm (counts, no rates)
- ✓ Party names as written in the decision; corporate groups are not linked
2. Automated Email Alerts
Receive an email at 09:00 UTC when a decision we have newly loaded matches a case, patent, judge, competitor, or law firm on your watchlist. An alert follows our capture of the decision, so it can arrive days after the court publishes it.
- ✓ Daily 09:00 UTC alerts when matching decisions land
- ✓ Monday Morning litigation briefing for practice heads
- ✓ 1 case free forever; full watchlists on Pro & Team
3. Claude AI Assistant (MCP)
Query UPC-Intel directly from Claude Desktop or Cursor via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Ask in natural language: "Which cases do you hold on patent EP3812870?"
- ✓ Free tier: 30 calls/hour, 5 results/query (public fields)
- ✓ Pro & Team key: Full results including counsel and PDF links
- ✓ Zero-install configuration for Claude Desktop
4. Developer API & RSS
For law firm knowledge management teams and IP management systems (IPMS). Ingest structured JSON directly into internal dashboards or subscribe to our RSS 2.0 feed.
- ✓ RESTful JSON endpoints with keyed access (Team plan)
- ✓ RSS 2.0 feed of the latest 25 decisions
Where the Data Comes From: Collection Realities
Legal data in Europe is fragmented across multiple official courts, registries, and language boundaries. Here is how UPC-Intel collects and updates records, and where the limits are.
Unified Patent Court (UPC)
Most working daysWe capture published decisions from the UPC's public "Decisions and orders" page using a browser extension, on most working days, and read the published PDFs. The decisions we hold start on 23 December 2025. Earlier UPC decisions are not held, and we cannot confirm that every later one is.
European Patent Office (EPO)
Daily automated syncWe read decisions of the EPO Boards of Appeal, almost all of them from 2026. For patents already in our database, we retrieve the register status, family ID, and key opposition and appeal dates from EPO Open Patent Services (OPS).
Selected National Courts
Checked daily, partialPatent decisions from courts in Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, and Ireland, mostly from 2026. Coverage is partial: some courts, and not every decision from them.
Understanding Decision Records: What Each Field Means
Patent litigation records can look intimidating. Here is a clear breakdown of the core fields you will see in our case dockets.
1. Case Identifier & Docket Numbers
e.g., UPC_CFI_1/2023, Ord_582846/2023, 23/03268In the UPC, a master proceeding has a CFI number (Court of First Instance) or CoA number (Court of Appeal). During the lifecycle of a dispute, multiple individual orders are issued (e.g., Ord_582846/2023). In national systems like France or Germany, case dockets follow regional filing formats (e.g., RG 23/03268 or 4b O 12/23). UPC-Intel cross-references both the parent dispute and individual orders.
2. Procedural Orders vs. Merits Judgments
Crucial DistinctionMost published documents are procedural orders rather than final judgments. Procedural orders resolve interim disputes before trial:
A merits judgment is the final substantive ruling on patent infringement, revocation, damages, or permanent injunction.
3. Judges & Judicial Panels
e.g., Presiding Judge, Judge-Rapporteur, TQJIn UPC panels, disputes are handled by panels of three legally qualified judges (often from different European countries). In technical disputes, a fourth Technically Qualified Judge (TQJ) with expertise in chemistry, biotech, or telecommunications may be appointed.
4. Parties, Representatives & Law Firms
e.g., Claimant vs. Defendant, Counsel of RecordUPC-Intel reads parties and counsel from court documents by machine, and the results can be incomplete or wrong, so check the decision itself. Names are stored as written: searching for a parent company does not find its subsidiaries. "Claimant" and "defendant" follow the document, so on an appeal the appellant is usually listed as claimant, and a company can appear on both sides across a case.
5. Outcomes & Status
e.g., granted, dismissed, stayed, issuedThe outcome field is not reliable yet. Most records say "issued" or "decision published", which means no ruling was extracted, not that nothing was decided. Where a ruling such as "dismissed" is shown, it applies to the document as a whole and can miss a partly successful request. Read the decision for the result, and do not build win rates or grant rates from this field.
Connecting Patents to Litigation: The EP Lifecycle
Court cases rarely exist in isolation. Understanding the patent itself gives context for the dispute.
European Patent (EP) Numbers
Every European patent granted by the EPO has an EP number (e.g., EP1863839). UPC-Intel links EP numbers to titles from the EPO register and to the court cases we hold for that patent. Each case holds one patent, so cases about several patents are incomplete. The applicant shown comes from the register and may not be the current owner.
Parallel EPO Oppositions
During the first 9 months after patent grant, competitors can file an administrative opposition at the EPO in Munich. Often, a defendant in UPC court litigation will also challenge the patent at the EPO. Where the EPO register shows it, UPC-Intel records the opposition and appeal dates for patents in our database.
Unitary Effect vs. Classic Bundle
Since June 2023, patentees can choose a Unitary Patent (UP) offering single-title protection across participating EU member states, or maintain a traditional European bundle. UPC-Intel does not currently hold unitary status.
UPC Opt-Out Status
During the transitional period (at least 7 years from June 2023), owners of classic European patents can opt out of UPC jurisdiction unless an action has already commenced. UPC-Intel does not currently hold opt-out filings or withdrawals.
Alerting & Watchlist Mechanics
How alert emails and the weekly briefing work.
Flexible Target Types
Follow a specific lawsuit (e.g., UPC_CFI_1/2023), a patent (e.g., EP1863839), a competitor company, a specific UPC judge, or peer law firms.
09:00 UTC Delivery
Every morning at 09:00 UTC, our pipeline evaluates all decisions indexed during the previous working cycle against active watchlists and sends focused email digests.
Weekly Intelligence
Every Monday morning, subscribers receive a briefing of the decisions published in the past week that we hold.
Data Access Matrix: What Each Plan Unlocks
Here is what is available on each plan. Everything below covers only what we hold: UPC decisions from 23 December 2025 and partial coverage of the EPO and national courts.
| Data Dimension / Feature | Public Guest | Signed-in Free | Pro (€300/mo) | Team (€800/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search Results | First results | All results | All results | All results |
| Links to the Court's PDF | — | Where published | Where published | Where published |
| Counsel on Case Pages | Hidden | Where recorded | Where recorded | Where recorded |
| Decisions by Judge | Where recorded | Where recorded | Where recorded | Where recorded |
| Tracked Entities & Email Alerts | 1 case | 1 case | Patents, companies, cases, judges and law firms | The same, for up to 5 people |
| Claude AI Assistant (MCP) Access | 30 calls/hr, 5 items | 30 calls/hr, 5 items | Keyed access, full results | Keyed access, full results |
| Developer REST API & Exports | — | — | — | REST API access (JSON) |
| User Seats Included | 1 guest | 1 user | 1 individual | 5 team seats |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I see counsel or law firm on every case?
Viewing counsel on a case page requires signing in. Beyond that, some courts do not name representatives, and our parser does not read every document, so counsel can be missing even where the court published it.
How quickly are new decisions added?
UPC decisions are captured from the UPC website on most working days and usually appear a few days after their date. The EPO and most national courts are checked daily, but several national courts publish weeks or months after a decision.
Do you cover both First Instance and Court of Appeal?
Yes, for the decisions we hold, which start on 23 December 2025: the Court of First Instance (CFI) divisions and the UPC Court of Appeal (CoA) in Luxembourg.
Can our law firm integrate this into internal KM software?
Yes. Team subscribers receive API keys allowing direct REST JSON ingestion into internal knowledge management, intranet, or IPMS tools. Endpoint documentation is on the docs page.
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