UPC CFI LD Mannheim, 3 July 2024: Confidentiality club membership rules considerations
08-07-2024 Print this pageConfidentiality club membership rules considerations Rule 262A RoP).
Number of persons having access to be determined on a case by case basis with the number of persons not being greater than necessary to ensure the right to an effective legal remedy and a fair procedure, including at least one natural person from each party and the respective layers of representatives of these parties.
Access for three natural persons is generally not objectionable in terms of numbers in case of complex technical matter.
In the absence of indications to the contrary, persons who are professionally familiar with the handling of confidential information, can generally be assumed to be reliable without the need for further explanations by the nominating party.
The fact that the designated persons are active in a technical field related to the patent in suit does not preclude suitability in a specific individual case.
No reason to restrict access on the part of the plaintiffs' authorised representatives to a certain number or even to named EPG representatives and their named internal assistants.
If authorised representatives wish to use external assistants with regard to confidential information, they must name them in advance so that a court decision can be made on this. It may be necessary to deviate from these principles, particularly in urgent proceedings for interim legal protection, in order to meet the requirements of the proceedings.
The plaintiffs' interest alone in ensuring that their respective legal representatives in the present proceedings and the parallel proceedings before the High Court of Justice exchange information extensively for effective and coordinated litigation does not justify making the confidential information available to the plaintiffs' representatives from the London proceedings. This would undermine the legitimate expectation of effective protection of confidentiality in the proceedings conducted before the Unified Patent Court on the basis of the UPC's Rules of Procedure.