Infringement filings under the UPC in chemicals and materials have gone from 2 cases in 2023, to 4 in 2024, to 11 in 2025. That’s close to a fourfold rise in two years.

But the more interesting number is the opt-out withdrawals. Compared to 2024, withdrawals jumped roughly sixfold in 2025, and about 65% of them happened in Q4 alone.

That kind of clustering is rarely accidental. 🙂

In other sectors, we’ve seen companies opt out early as a precaution, then step back in once they’re ready to file for infringement. The chemicals space looks like it may be entering that same phase now.

If your portfolio covers materials, polymers, or process technologies, this is worth keeping a close eye on.

My team recently put together a deeper breakdown of UPC filing trends across sectors, including which patent holders are moving most aggressively and what the withdrawal timing actually signals. You can read it here: [link]

Out of curiosity, is UPC something you’re actively tracking right now, or still more of a watching brief internally?

Eager to hear from you: https://greyb.com/become-a-client