(Publ. 19 MAR 2019) Sweden and the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) have now, after several years of negotiations, signed an agreement in Brussels on March 4, 2014, to place a common regional division of the new European Patent Court in Sweden. The division’s headquarter will be located in Stockholm and English will be the primary language of the department.

The aim has been to be part of a Nordic-Baltic regional division. The department makes it possible for the region’s judges and representatives to maintain and develop their skills, and the idea is that the court will provide for a more consistent jurisprudence.

The new European Patent Court will have two instances. The first instance will have a central division in Paris with branches in London and Munich, as well as a number of local and regional divisions. Member states may choose to either set up local branches, or together with one or more member states establish regional divisions.