UPC CFI CD Paris, 8 January 2024: No stay of revocation proceedings because of pending EPO opposition

Rejected stay of revocation proceeding pending opposition proceedings before EPO (Rule 295(1)(a) RoP, Article 33 (10) UPCA). 

Requirement of “rapid decision” not fulfilled in the absence of a concrete expectation for a EPO decision in the near future evaluated together with the expected date of the current proceedings, that can be estimated in approximately one year since the lodging of the claim.

12. It seems appropriate that the Court, requested to stay the proceedings, shall weight up the opposing interests of the parties and, in particular, the interest in having a decision by the Unified Patent Court in an appropriate time and the interest in avoiding costs for parallel proceedings. 
13. In doing so, the Court shall take into account the expected date of the decision before the ‘EPO’ (as well as before any national authority) and consider whether an order of stay the proceedings until that date would cause an unjustifiable harm to the right to access to justice of the claimant who has lodged its claim before the Unified Patent Court or not. 
14. In carrying out the assessment on the existence of an unjustifiable harm that would derive from the order of stay the proceedings, the Court has to take into consideration also the expected date of its judgement. 
15. Indeed, while it seems convenient to order the stay of the proceedings where the proceedings before ‘EPO’ or any national authority is near to the end and the proceedings before the Unified Patent Court has just begun, the opposite must be said where these factual circumstances are not existing. 
16. According to this panel, the mentioned criterion represents a proper implementation of the discretionary power assigned to the Court, as is appears to be respectful of the principles of proportionality, flexibility, fairness and equity (see, Preamble 2 and 4 of the RoP).