Orders to Preserve Evidence ("Saisies") at the Unified Patent Court: Two-Year Roundup and Early Insights
Evidence is a key battleground in virtually all patent litigation cases. As a Court designed to combine the best and most efficient features of the main EU national patent litigation systems, the Unified Patent Court ("UPC") logically includes the possibility to request and perform infringement seizures—also called "saisies," "dawn raids," or "orders to preserve evidence"—in order to search for and secure evidence of alleged acts of infringement in virtually any location and against any party, under conditions that draw heavily from the French "saisie-contrefaçon" and the Italian "descrizione." Two years after the entry into force of the UPC in June 2023, a critical mass of saisie orders have been issued, the study of which provides valuable insights on the best practices and issues at stake for litigants at both ends.
