When the deadline for appeal has started: what to do first
When an appeal deadline starts running, it does not pause while you gather documents. Confirm the exact date on which the decision was served, calendar the final day using calendar days, not working days, and instruct counsel immediately. Under the Unified Patent Court framework, appeal windows are short and rarely extended. Missing the date closes the remedy.
What starts the clock
The relevant deadline usually begins on the date of service of a decision or order, not on the date you read it. For unitary patents, the appeal forum sits within the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, which governs appeals across the participating states as one system. The underlying substantive protection is created by Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012, and the translation regime that accompanies it is set out in Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012. Together they define which patents fall under this appeal route and which remain outside it, because a patent granted outside the unitary system may still sit before a national forum with its own calendar.
None of these instruments fix the number of days for a given appeal. That number sits in the decision itself, or in the procedural rules of the forum that issued it. The role of the instruments above is to identify which forum applies, not to state the count.
What changes once the deadline is running
Once the clock starts, several things move at once. The time available for settlement talks shrinks, because a filed appeal changes the negotiating position of both sides. Evidence gathering that was optional becomes urgent, since new material is harder to admit once the appeal is lodged. Internal sign-off that could wait a week last month now cannot wait a day.
A parallel ownership dispute does not pause this deadline. The related memo, When an agency keeps the design files and the underlying rights are contested, walks through a comparable stalled-file scenario where a missing document did not move the calendar either.
What to do first
- Confirm the trigger date. Locate the decision or order and its date of service. The deadline usually runs from service, not from the hearing date or the date you first read the order.
- Calendar the last day. Have the instructing partner or paralegal record the final day in the file diary, with a reminder set well before it, not on it.
- Freeze assumptions about time. Stop settlement discussions or drafting timelines that assume more time than the deadline actually allows.
- Instruct counsel today. Send the decision, the proof of service, and any prior correspondence to the lawyer who will handle the appeal.
- Identify the forum. Confirm whether the matter sits before the Unified Patent Court or before a national court, since the two calendars can differ.
- Preserve the record. Keep the first-instance file intact; the appeal is usually decided on that record plus whatever the forum permits to be added.
Who decides, and on what timetable
The answer depends on which forum has jurisdiction over the underlying patent. The table below sets out the three questions that matter most once a deadline has started.
| Question | Where the answer sits |
|---|---|
| Which body hears the appeal | The forum designated for the underlying patent — the Unified Patent Court system or a national court, depending on the grant route |
| What evidence is admitted | The record built at first instance, plus any material the forum allows to be added on appeal |
| What triggers the deadline | Service of the decision under appeal, not its date of issue or the date it reached you |
Two situations that change the answer
If the underlying right is a unitary patent, the appeal sits within the system created by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, and the timetable is fixed by that forum's own rules rather than by a national court's calendar.
If the dispute instead concerns a licensed digital asset rather than the patent itself, the deadline logic can differ. When the referenced work is removed explained sets out a comparable situation for tokenised rights, where removal of the referenced work — not a court decision — starts the clock.
If a foreign court in a related matter rules before your own forum does, the two timetables still run separately; that scenario is covered on its own terms elsewhere on this site.
What this page does not cover
This page does not calculate the exact final day for your file. That depends on the service date, the forum, and whether the deadline is counted in calendar or working days. It does not draft the appeal, and it does not predict the outcome. Those steps need the file itself, not a general situation page.
Sources and limit
Verified: this page reflects the framework in force as of the review date noted in the file log. The instruments referenced above are public EU acts; none of them fix a specific number of days for a specific appeal — that number sits in the decision itself and in the forum's own rules.
The file behind this situation follows the same sourcing discipline used across the registry: Counterparty in Luxembourg and the deadline shows how a comparable timetable is checked against a primary source before anyone relies on it.
For the tier structure behind that check, see Sources by tier and delivery route and the evidence.
How the file is organised
The file is scoped to the forum and the applicable deadline, not to a fixed price list — work on a running appeal deadline is priced case by case. What changes the shape of the work is straightforward: how many jurisdictions are involved, whether an opponent has appeared, how many prior filings need review, and how much of the evidentiary record still needs to be assembled.
A partner responds to a new deadline enquiry within minutes during business hours. A scope and an indicative fee follow within one business day, once the trigger date and the forum are confirmed.
Related situations
A related timing question arises when parallel proceedings abroad move faster than the domestic file: When a court in another country decides first explained covers what changes once a foreign court rules before yours does.
FAQ
What is the first step when the deadline for appeal has started?
Confirm the date of service of the decision and calendar the final day before doing anything else. Instructing counsel comes immediately after that.
Which deadline is already running?
Usually the deadline to lodge the appeal itself, counted from service of the decision under appeal rather than from the date it was issued or read.
Who decides, and on what evidence?
The forum designated for the underlying patent decides, on the record built at first instance plus whatever additional material that forum permits on appeal.
Next step
If a deadline is already running on your file, send the decision and the proof of service now. A partner reviews trigger dates during business hours and confirms the applicable forum before the file is scoped.