The Unified Patent Court (UPC) has announced that a third panel will be established at its Court of Appeal (CoA) as of January 2026. This step comes in response to the steady increase in the UPC’s caseload and the corresponding rise in appeals, underlining the court’s growing significance within the European patent system. The new panel, which had already been approved by the UPC’s Administrative Committee in July, will be composed of three highly respected figures in European patent law: Ulrike Voß, currently presiding judge at the UPC’s Court of First Instance, Bart van den Broek, a prominent Dutch IP litigator, and Nathalie Sabotier, currently magistrate at the French Cour de Cassation.
Ulrike Voß is widely regarded as one of the most experienced patent judges in Europe, having previously served as presiding judge at the Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf and played a key role in both the central and local divisions of the UPC in Munich. Her move to the CoA can be seen as a natural progression, given her extensive experience and outstanding reputation.
The appointment of Bart van den Broek is noteworthy, as it marks his transition from private practice to the judicial bench. While this path is not so commonly seen, it is remarkable that in particular Dutch UPC judges Rian Kalden (Court of Appeal), Peter Blok (Court of Appeal) and András Kupecz (central division Munich) have also worked as lawyers in private practice before switching to the judiciary.
Nathalie Sabotier is recognized as one of France’s most renowned patent judges. Even prior to her present position at the Cour de Cassation in Paris, she has acquired significant expertise in handling complex patent disputes as a vice president and presiding judge of the 3rd chamber for IP matters at the Tribunal Judiciaire. At the UPC’s CoA, she will join her fellow countryman Emmanuel Gougé, thereby enhancing the French presence on the bench.
Even though it has not yet been officially stated which of the new Court of Appeal judges will chair the third panel, Ulrike Voß appears to be the most obvious choice, considering her vast experience in patent disputes and her current leading role at the Court of First Instance. With the other two panels of the CoA being chaired by Klaus Grabinski (Germany) and Rian Kalden (Netherlands), this would lead to two out of three panels being headed by German judges.
The developments at the Court of Appeal also bring significant changes to the Court of First Instance, particularly in Munich, where Ulrike Voß currently serves as presiding judge of both the central division and the second panel of the local division. While it is still unknown who will succeed her in these roles, the UPC has already announced that Daniel Severinsson (Sweden) and Georg Werner (Germany) will join the central division and the local division, respectively, as legally qualified judges.
“The creation of the third Court of Appeal panel marks another milestone in the UPC’s development and signals its readiness to handle the increasing complexity and volume of European patent litigation,” says Mathias Karlhuber, patent attorney and partner at Cohausz & Florack. “The diverse backgrounds of the new judges, spanning German, Dutch, and French legal traditions, will further strengthen the UPC’s pan-European character,” adds Dr. Matthias Rottmann, patent attorney at C&F.
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