After ongoing speculation, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has officially confirmed the establishment of a second panel at the Düsseldorf Local Division (LD). As of March 1, Düsseldorf, which is currently the second busiest LD of the UPC, will join Munich as another Local Division having two panels.
Currently, UPC proceedings in Düsseldorf are handled by presiding judge Ronny Thomas together with either Bérénice Thom or Jule Schumacher as well as a foreign judge. From March 1, the first panel will still comprise Ronny Thomas as presiding judge and Jule Schumacher, whereas the newly created second panel will be presided by Bérénice Thom and joined by Ingo Rinken, who has previously served at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
This expansion aligns with a broader trend at the UPC, which has seen a steady increase in both legally and technically qualified judges to efficiently manage the rising number of cases. Only recently, in January 2026, the UPC’s Court of Appeal in Luxembourg has also been expanded with the establishment of a third panel.
“The second panel in Düsseldorf reflects the growing caseload and underlines the importance of the venue, both within the UPC and the German national system,” says Dr. Christoph Walke, patent attorney and partner at Cohausz & Florack. “This step continues the success story of the UPC and shows that Germany is a key venue for global patent litigation,” adds Dr. Matthias Rottmann, patent attorney at C&F.
