In the last Letter from Europe, I looked at the potential financial impact a single judge could have on the economy. As I alluded to in my conclusion, the United Patents Court (UPC), a proposed common patent court open for use by all EU member states, could have a much bigger impact than anyone might realise, and not necessarily in a positive sense.

This somewhat gloomy prognosis arose out of a conversation with my friend and fellow partner, James Tumbridge. James, or Jimmy T. as I sometimes call him, has been involved in politics since a youth. He even once ran as a candidate, but now scratches his political itch by occasionally advising politicians on matters in IP. Had James and other IP practitioners and organisations not raised awareness at a political level of the importance of the UPC, we wouldn’t have seen any key part of it in the UK; it would all have gone to Germany.