UPC CFI LD Paris, 31 July 2024: Request for information unjustified - not reasonably necessary advance the case
20-08-2024 Print this page
Request for information regarding distribution chain admissible but dismissed (Article 67 UPCA, Rule 191 RoP, Article 8 Enforcement Directive).
Rule 191 RoP can be invoked at different stages of the procedure: during the proceedings, in order to compel parties to submit information with regard to submissions to be made, or at the stage of the final decision. Furthermore, the Court notes that it is appropriate to apply the same reasoning in relation to the right to information under EU Enforcement Directive 2004/48 (Art. 8), which allows a request to be made at any stage of the procedure.
Request for information dismissed: not sufficiently justified as the applicant fails to demonstrate that the requested information is reasonably necessary for the purpose of advancing that party’s case. Disclosure of the entire distribution chain of the allegedly infringing products, in a situation where ABBOTT has deliberately chosen to act only against certain distributors, would be disproportionate and not sufficiently directly related to the present case. Moreover, as suggested as an alternative by DEXCOM in its written comments, ABBOTT would still have the possibility of requesting the disclosure of targeted information on the role of each of the defendants in the infringement established by a decision on the merits, in order to determine the damages owed by each of the defendant entities.
