Request rejected to allow further written submissions regarding new product version (‘Barryvox S’) (R. 36 RoP). Time available until the date of the oral hearing (26 November 2024) clearly insufficient for (i) further legal classification and treatment thereof, as well as (ii) a reasonable period of time for the...

Further written pleading rejected (R. 36 RoP). Would lead to a delay in the proceedings. In view of the oral hearing, which is already scheduled for December, such a delay would be unacceptable to both the Court and the Defendants. The Claimant’s right to be heard is not unduly restricted by the rejection. New factual...

A reasoned request for information under R. 191 RoP must sufficiently specify which information is requested and for what reasons. The requesting party may assert a fact that it believes to be true without fear of being accused of failing to furnish the court with truthful facts simply because the opposing party...

No reimbursement of court fees following interlocutory rectification by EPO of contested decision after Court order that there was no reason for full or partial reimbursement of the fee for the action (R. 370 RoP, R. 91 RoP, R. 333 RoP, R. 220 RoP). Even if it is foreseen by R. 370.11 RoP that an application may also...

Claim construction (Article 69 EPC). Skilled person will not stop at the literal meaning of a feature but will determine the meaning of the word ”flask“ in the context of the patent claim as a whole. In doing so, the skilled person will turn to the technical function of the flask given by the individual feature and in...

Costs for the appeal instance rejected due to failure to comply with the time limit. (R. 151 RoP, R. 320 RoP, R. 9(3) RoP). Re-establishment of rights under R. 320 RoP, as a lex specialis, takes precedence over Rule 9.3 (a) RoP.

Patent revoked in its entirety. Court to examine its international jurisdiction of its own motion. The parties are not the same for the purposes of Articles 29  and 31 Brussels I recast Regulation. The fact that both parties belong to the same group of companies and have the same parent company is insufficient to...

Application for provisional measures dismissed (Article 62 UPCA, R. 211 RoP). The allegation that no acts of infringement at all were committed is irrelevant in the assessment of territorial competence (Article 33(1)(a) UPCA) because it does not challenge the territorial connection to the Local or Regional Division. It...

Valid priority (Article 87 EPC). Requirement of ‘same invention’ in Article 87 EPC is met if the skilled person can derive the subject-matter of the claim of an invention directly and unambiguously, using common general knowledge, from the previous application as a whole (the so-called ‘gold standard’). No added matter...

Provisional injunction: imminent danger that the Applicant's right will be infringed by the contested embodiment in the Contracting States, in particular in Germany and Bulgaria (Article 62 UPCA, R. 211 RoP). It is at least more likely than not that the contested embodiment, the 2023 version of KAGURA, makes literal...

New submission disregarded; lack of relevance for the decision on the appeal (R. 222(2) RoP). Contrary to SharkNinja's view, submissions by the parties in other proceedings that contradict the submissions in the present proceedings do not mean that the submissions in the present proceedings must be regarded as...

Not every new argument constitutes an “amendment of a case” (R. 263 RoP). An amendment of the case in the sense of R. 263 RoP only occurs when the nature and scope of the dispute changes such as through the introduction of a new patent or objection to a new product. A new basis for infringement (such as equivalence)...

Leave to appeal under R. 220.2 RoP must be expressly granted by the Court of First Instance and cannot be presumed. The phrase that the order "is subject to appeal under the conditions laid down by the provisions of R. 220.2 RoP" is for information purposes only and not a grant of leave to appeal (Article 73(2) UPCA).

Patent pool administrator admitted as intervener: has a direct and present legal interest in the outcome of the proceedings (R. 313 RoP). As pool administrator, Applicant is entitled to conduct license negotiations with implementers of the HEVC standard, to enter into license agreements for the patents included in the...

The effect of the impugned order is suspended (Article 74 UPCA, R. 223 RoP) until the Court of First instance has decided on the request for correction, insofar as the exception to the injunction issued therein does not include the “BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé” model.

Provisional injunction granted for direct and literal infringement with carveout for BMW supplies (R. 211 RoP, Article 62 UPCA, Article 25 UPCA, Article 69 EPC). It is more likely than not that the patent in suit is infringed by the offer and distribution of the challenged embodiments in the territory of the...

Entitled to withdraw opt-out, unless the earlier national litigation was brought during the transitional regime (Article 83(4) UPCA). Considering the wording, structure, object and purpose of Art. 83 UPCA as a whole, the Court of Appeal is of the opinion that the sentence “Unless an action has already been brought...

Leave to change claim granted following judgment of the Bundespatentgericht of 7 May 2024, except for claim II.2, which is not related thereto and could have been asserted as early as 12 March 2024 (R. 263 RoP). The amendment to the action almost three months later is no longer within the bounds of due diligence and...

Justified restriction of access to US-attorneys involved in parallel proceedings in the US with the intention to align the arguments and to provide the technical input to proceedings outside of the UPC System – and even outside of the EU (R. 262A RoP). Initially insufficiently blacked-out illustrations are part of the...