Flip Petillion
Flip Petillion has been admitted to the list of neutrals of the UPC Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) starting on 1 January 2026, for the positions of:
– Member of the Arbitral Tribunal, and
– Sole and Emergency Arbitrator.
PMAC’s arbitration, mediation and expert determination rules are expected to be adopted in February 2026, with the Centre’s official inauguration scheduled for June 2026.
With seventeen years’ experience as a deputy judge at the Brussels Court of Appeal, more than three decades of practice in arbitration and ADR, and a longstanding focus on intellectual property, including patent disputes, Flip endeavours to contribute — together with fellow arbitrators — to the efficient and rigorous resolution of patent-related disputes within this new framework.
PMAC’s emphasis on specialised, rigorous and efficient dispute resolution in patent matters renders this appointment particularly meaningful.
Flip is pleased to be part of this initiative at an early stage of its development and looks forward to contributing to the Centre’s work and engaging with its professional community in the years ahead.
Flip said: "The creation of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre within the framework of the Unified Patent Court introduces a structurally coherent form of alternative dispute resolution into the European patent landscape. The Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre is not conceived as a competitor to judicial proceedings before the UPC, but as a complementary forum offering parties procedural flexibility, confidentiality and technical specialisation where litigation may not be the optimal first step.
Its principal strength lies in its institutional anchoring. By operating within the UPC ecosystem, PMAC combines the advantages traditionally associated with arbitration and mediation — speed, expertise, discretion — with the credibility and systemic coherence of a court-centred patent system. This makes it particularly suitable for complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes, licensing discussions, and situations where commercial continuity matters as much as legal outcome.
PMAC does not promise easier justice, nor should it. Its value lies in offering a different procedural logic: one that prioritises tailored solutions, without sacrificing rigour or enforceability. In that sense, PMAC reflects a mature understanding of patent disputes in Europe — not as purely adversarial events, but as conflicts embedded in long-term technological and commercial relationships."