UPC CFI, LD Hamburg, 16 January 2025: Bifurcation for practical reasons - no stay of infringement action
10-02-2025 Print this page
Bifurcation: parties agree and most practical solution (Article 33(3) UPCA).
As the oral hearing is already scheduled by the Central Division – and its date is approaching within the next two to three months – a referral of the counterclaim to the Central Division appears to be the most practical solution to avoid inconsistent decisions and duplication of work on validity (comp. LD Munich, 02.02.2024).
No stay of infringement action (R. 296.3 RoP). A
stay of proceedings would lead to the consequence that all time-limits are automatically suspended and shall begin to run afresh from the date the stay comes to an end, R. 296.3 RoP. As a Statement of defence is still due for Defendant 1) and Defendant 5), it is for the time being favourable to proceed with the infringement action as a whole. Furthermore, a decision on the Defendant 5)’s preliminary objection dated 16 December 2024 under R. 19.1(a) is still pending. For the sake of efficiency of the proceedings the panel takes, as indicated by the judge-rapporteur in his preliminary order 10 December 2024, the expected time line for the issuing of a final decision of the Central Division into consideration.
