What’s new: The UPC has today announced that, following the retirement of legally qualified Court of Appeal (CoA) judge Emanuela Germano, Paolo Catallozzi, a presiding judge at the UPC’s Paris seat of the Central Division (CD), has been appointed to the CoA, effective April 1. Meanwhile, Vincenzo Carnì, an Italian judge who currently serves at the Tribunale di Milano (Milan Tribunal), will assume Judge Catallozzi’s role at the CD Paris (March 6, 2026 UPC press release), effective the same date.
In a statement today, UPC CoA President Klaus Grabinski and Court of First Instance President Florence Butin thanked Judge Germano for her “valuable” work for the CoA and wished her an enjoyable retirement. They also gave a warm welcome to both Judge Catallozzi and Judge Carnì.
Judge Emanuela Germano
Judge Germano first became a judge in 1981 and served most of her career at courts in Turin, Italy. As well as her role at the UPC, she is also President of the Fiscal Chamber, second degree, of the Valle d’Aosta (Italy), and is the author of publications on both civil and criminal law. At the UPC, she was a member of the panels overseeing Progress Maschinen & Automation AG v. AWM & Schnell (July 23, 2024 ip fray article), Nokia v. Mala Technologies (September, 2024 ip fray LinkedIn post), and Maguin/Valinea v. Tiru, in which the CoA clarified multiple aspects of the legal standard for the availability of evidence preservation measures in UPC cases (July 15, 2025 ip fray article).
Judge Paolo Catallozzi
At the UPC, Judge Catallozzi has overseen cases including Emporia v. Seoul Viosys (February 12, 2026 ip fray article), Edwards Lifesciences v. Meril Life Sciences (October 22, 2025 ip fray article), Suinno Oy v. Microsoft (July 2, 2024 ip fray article), and Tandem Diabetes Care v. Roche Diabetes Care (May 10, 2024 ip fray article). As well as serving at the UPC, he currently serves at the Supreme Court of Italy, assigned to the first civil chamber, where he often oversees IP cases, as well as those in competition law, banking, corporate, and bankruptcy law.
Judge Vincenzo Carnì
Judge Carnì is an Italian judge serving at the Tribunale di Milano (Milan Tribunal), specifically in the specialized business section (Tribunale delle Imprese), which handles complex commercial, corporate, and IP matters (including patent cases). He is associated with the 14th section of the tribunal, which is a key venue for IP disputes in Italy.