The conference began the evening before with an informal rooftop reception, setting a warm, collegial tone for the day that followed. A tightly packed programme of panels was followed by further conversation during the breaks, in the evening, and over excellent Portuguese food. More than one attendee remarked that the discussions between panels were just as valuable as those on stage.  

The UPC, three years on

A recurring theme across the panels was just how far the UPC has come in a short time, and this is precisely the kind of front-row insight that makes attending worthwhile. With roughly 100 first-instance decisions now on the books, panellists pointed to the speed and agility of preliminary injunction proceedings as a genuine strength of the new system. Preliminary opinions were widely welcomed as a tool that helps both sides sharpen their arguments. Several judges in the room shared that settlements are increasingly common, including cases that resolved during the hearing itself, and statistics presented on the day showed a notably high settlement rate following first-instance decisions.

At the same time, speakers were candid about the court's growing pains. The uneven distribution of cases across the different divisions came up repeatedly as a concern, alongside the practical challenge of recruiting enough judges and support staff to keep decision times fast as caseloads grow. Calendar coordination across multi-judge panels was flagged as a further logistical hurdle, also making it difficult to render a preliminary opinion well ahead of a final hearing instead of at the start of the hearing (as is done in German Divisions). These are exactly the kinds of developments that move quickly — making it worth hearing about firsthand each year, directly from the judges shaping them.

Judges and practitioners, in open dialogue

What stood out for many attendees was simply how accessible the judges were, of course fully protected by Chatham House Rules and in an environment that was intended to be nothing more than academic and about exchanging views to enhance the system. Conversations on and off stage reflected a court that is consciously building itself into a community — diverse in background, yet recognisably European in outlook — while remaining genuinely open about its internal constraints and the practical realities of the bench. That kind of direct, off-the-record access to the people deciding tomorrow's cases is rare, and it is the reason so many attendees describe this conference as unmissable rather than optional. Several speakers also noted that this dialogue between judges and practitioners is central to making the UPC a forum the market can rely on.

Why be there next year

Beyond the substance, attendees consistently praised the quality of the venue, the pace of the program, and the chance to reconnect with familiar faces while making new ones — all against the backdrop of one of Europe's most attractive cities. With the UPC's case law, procedures and personalities all still evolving fast, each edition offers a genuinely fresh set of insights you won't get anywhere else: direct access to sitting judges, practical strategy from leading litigators, and the kind of candid, Chatham House conversation that rarely happens in public. Many attendees left the first edition already looking forward to the next — and with the event selling out once, early registration next year is likely to matter even more.

Thanks to Wim Maas and Abreu Advogados, and to every judge, practitioner and in-house counsel who made the first Lisbon Patents & Standards Conference such a memorable and substantive day. 

We hope to welcome you -or welcome you back- next year.