EU-Einheitspatent und Schiedsverfahren

International Commercial Arbitration is on the rise. Its advantages, such as world-wide enforceability, quick proceedings, cost-effectiveness, specialised arbitrators and confidentiality seem especially desirable when it comes to complex patent proceedings. At the same time, the exact scope of the arbitrability of patent disputes is unclear, since the patent is granted through an administrative act, and the German Federal Patent Court has exclusive jurisdiction in nullity proceedings. With the European Patent with Unitary Effect, the Unified Patent Court and its Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre on the horizon, it is now time to question the conventional arguments against patent arbitration and to solve the underlying conflict between party autonomy and exclusive state court jurisdiction.