Jurisdiction of the UPC: decision of the Court of Appeal

In a pivotal ruling (UPC_CoA_30/2024 APL_4000/2024 Fives ECL, SAS vs. REEL GmbH), the Court of Appeal addressed the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) regarding damages tied to patent infringement adjudicated by national courts, as well as its authority over infringements that occurred prior to the implementation of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA). The case originated before the UPCA took effect on June 1, 2023, when Fives initiated legal proceedings against REEL in the Düsseldorf Regional Court (Germany) for infringing the German segment of a European patent. On August 9, 2022, the Düsseldorf court ruled in favor of Fives, mandating REEL to compensate for damages dating back to December 2, 2016. Subsequently, on August 8, 2023, Fives filed a new claim with the UPC’s Hamburg Local Division, seeking a damages assessment. However, REEL contested the UPC's jurisdiction over this claim. The Hamburg Local Division dismissed Fives' request, asserting that the UPC lacked authority to determine damages based on prior national court rulings. It interpreted the UPCA as permitting damages claims only following a UPC patent infringement action. Furthermore, it reasoned that recognizing a national judgment under the Brussels Ia Regulation could not confer jurisdiction upon the UPC. Contrarily, the Court of Appeal rejected this interpretation, affirming that the UPC functions as a court of a Member State, thereby not necessitating specific regulations for recognizing judgments from contracting member states. It acknowledged the UPC’s capacity to hear standalone damages actions, particularly in cases of undisputed infringement. Ultimately, the Court concluded that the UPC possesses the jurisdiction to adjudicate damages claims subsequent to national court findings of infringement and can also address infringements occurring before the UPCA's enforcement, provided the relevant European patent remains valid. This verdict broadens the scope of actions permissible before the UPC and clarifies the temporal applicability of the UPCA.



This news is summarized and processed by the IP Topics artificial intelligence algorithm.
Read the full article on the original webpage:  https://blog.lavoix.eu/2025/02/18/jurisdiction-of-the-upc-decision-of-the-court-of-appeal/
The cover image belongs to the source website and is used as an integral part of the summary of the reference article.