Rule 323 – Application by one party to use the language in which the patent was granted as language of the proceedings

1. If a party wishes to use the language in which the patent was granted as language of the proceedings, in accordance with Article 49(5) of the Agreement, the party shall include such Application in the Statement of Claim, in the case of a claimant, or in the Statement of Defence, in the case of a defendant. The judge-rapporteur shall forward the Application to the President of the Court of First Instance.

2. The President shall invite the other party to indicate, within 10 days, its position on the use of the language in which the patent was granted as language of the proceedings.

3. The President, having consulted the panel of the division, may order that the language in which the patent was granted shall be the language of the proceedings and may make the order conditional on specific translation or interpretation arrangements.

Relation with Agreement: Article 49(5)

Case Law

IPPT20231018, UPC CFI, President, Plant-e v Arkyne

Language of the proceedings changed from Dutch into English, the language in which the patent was granted (Article 49 UPCA, Rule 323 RoP). Both parties have a good command of English, which is one of their working languages and also the language in which the exchanges prior to the infringement action have been conducted. Consequently, the use of English would not affect the interests of the Respondents, who have already provided a translation of the statement of claim which was served on 10 August 2023. It follows from Art. 49 (5) UPCA that it may be sufficient that - amongst all relevant circumstances also to be considered - the language initially chosen is significantly detrimental to the Applicant.