In 2024, Munich established itself as the most important location for patent litigation in Germany and Europe. A total of 231 new patent infringement proceedings were filed at the Regional Court Munich I, overtaking the previously leading Düsseldorf Regional Court with around 220 proceedings for the first time. This makes Munich the national leader in patent law.

Munich also clearly asserts itself on the European level: The Munich Local Chamber of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) recorded around 70 infringement actions between 1 June 2023 and 30 September 2024 – the most of all UPC locations. By comparison, the Düsseldorf Local Chamber handled 42 cases in the same period, Paris around 11 and Milan around 7. These courts are responsible for disputes relating to uniform patents and European patents excluding opt-out, thus enabling centralized jurisdiction in up to 18 EU member states.

In addition to the high number of cases, Munich benefits from its role as a location of one of the three central chamber divisions of the UPC, alongside Paris and Milan. The high demand led to the establishment of a second chamber at the Munich UPC local division in 2024.

These figures demonstrate Munich's double significance: not only is the Munich I Regional Court the most important German court for national patent litigation, but the city also plays a key role in the implementation of European patent jurisdiction. At the same time, the Munich and Düsseldorf Regional Courts remain important competitors on national and European level with their high number of cases.

The high concentration of proceedings emphasizes Munich's reputation as a competence center for technology and innovation protection — a clear advantage for companies that rely on competent and efficient jurisdiction.

With its many years of experience and expertise regarding the regional courts in Munich and Düsseldorf as well as the Munich and Düsseldorf local chambers of the UPC, the law firm Bals and Vogel is ideally positioned to represent clients competently and strategically in both jurisdictions.

Sources:

https://www.justiz.bayern.de/presse-und-medien/pressemitteilungen/archiv/2025/27.php

https://www.iam-media.com/review/the-patent-prosecution-review/2025/article/specialist-chapter-trends-emerging-upc-indicate-growing-divergence-epo-practices