Minister of Justice László Trócsányi delivered the following welcoming remarks at the launching of the first training in the Training Centre of the Unified Patent Court in Budapest on 23 February 2015:
Dear Distinguished Guests, dear Judge Candidates,
I am very pleased to personally welcome all of you on behalf of the Ministry of Justice on the occasion of the launching of the first training in the Training Centre. It is a privilege for me to welcome Madam Principal Director Margot Fröhlinger from the European Patent Office, Mr Jean-Michel Zilliox, Director of the European Patent Academy, and Ambassador Olivér Várhelyi, coordinator of the HR and Training working group of the Preparatory Committee of the UPC, who tirelessly worked on the setting up of the training framework of the UPC and who are devoted to the unified patent project.
There is no doubt that we are facing a unique challenge as regards the establishment of a new international court, the Unified Patent Court. The pledge of the effective operation of the unified patent system is a solid judicial framework, since the UPC will serve as the guardian of the whole system. There are plenty of elements being crucial for the establishment of the UPC, however, there is one factor, which is indispensable for its efficiency. It is the highly qualified judiciary.
For these reasons, we are exceptionally honoured to provide the seat of the Training Centre in Budapest. In order to fulfil the aim of the training, the Ministry of Justice and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office showed high degree of commitment in ensuring all conditions for the launching of the training. Please, allow me to say a few words of thanks to the Director of and colleagues from the European Patent Academy who did their best to develop the training program and shared their significant experience in the field of training of judges with us.
The pre-selection process of the candidate judges of the UPC was indeed useful as it reinforced that there have been numerous highly qualified lawyers throughout Europe with considerable practical experience. I am delighted to see the first nineteen candidates in this classroom coming from thirteen different states. Let me congratulate all of you to have been selected to participate in the training. Your presence here indicates that you possess a considerable legal knowledge and practical experience, and during the pre-selection process you proved to be the ones being close to be eligible judge candidates. Our task is to refine your knowledge in the field of patent law and offer you a helping hand in acquiring practical experience in the most renowned patent courts in Germany, France and in the United Kingdom. You are in an exceptional favoured situation as you will have the chance to learn from the best patent experts from the European Patent Office and from European states with considerable volume of patent litigation. We are grateful for all the speakers for undertaking the task of teaching in the Centre and for travelling to Budapest for this week.
Dear Judge Candidates, I know that there is still a long way to go since besides the classroom training you would take part in internships abroad and mock-trials would also play a significant role in helping you to apply for a judicial position in the UPC with increased success. The most important is that you have taken the first step in this process of learning by travelling to Budapest. I wish you all a fruitful week in the Training Centre and a pleasant and enjoyable stay in our beautiful capital.
Thank you very much for your kind attention!