One of the remedies available to a patent holder against a patent infringer is an injunction to prevent future. Two types are generally available: a preliminary injunction and an injunction in proceedings on the merits. A preliminary injunction is a provisional measures which has to be confirmed in merits proceedings or otherwise ceases to have effect. In European patent law a (provisional) cross-border injunction is possible: a court in one European state can prohibit infringement in several other European states.
It has been about a year since the UPC issued its first PI decision, making it a good time to reflect on the case law created so far. The year has seen PI applications being made in front of a range of Local Divisions, including Düsseldorf, The Hague, Helsinki, Vienna, and Hamburg, with most determined…
Introduction On 19 June 2024, The Hague Local Division handed down a judgment in a dispute brought by Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. (“Abbott”) against Sibio Technology Limited and Umedwings Netherlands BV (together “Sibio”). Abbott sought to obtain a preliminary injunction (as well as certain other provisional measures) against Sibio, relying on its patent EP 2…
On 30 April 2024, the UPC’s Local Division Düsseldorf handed down a new chapter in the 10x Genomics saga. This time the case is not against NanoString (see this post on the lost appeal) but against the US-based company Curio (see this post on the earlier language appeal in this case). The central issue before…
On 3 June 2024, the UPC’s Hamburg Local Division rejected a PI application against UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) and Kinexon GmBH (a technology partner) in regard to the use of video-assistance referee (VAR) technology at the upcoming European Championship in Germany. The application for preliminary relief concerned EP 1 944 067 (EP…
On the 23 May 2024, the English Patents Court dismissed an application by Lenovo for an interim injunction to prevent Ericsson infringing one of Lenovo’s patents pending the outcome of the UK proceedings ([2024] EWHC 1267 (Ch)). In particular, the Court found that the application failed on the basis that damages are an adequate remedy…
From the potpourri of decisions that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court handed down last year, I have selected one in subjective hindsight that I consider to be particularly relevant regarding further cases. The outcome of most decisions of the Swiss Federal Patent Court in 2023 heavily depended on the specific circumstances and the effects of…
On November 28, 2023, the Tokyo District Court issued a preliminary injunction order against Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Sawai”) to suspend the manufacture and sale of Sawai’s pharmaceutical product (“Sawai’s Product”) developed and sold as a generic drug of Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”)’s cancer drug “Sprycel®” (Case No. 2023 (Yo) 30214; AIK represented BMS in this…
On the last day of the AIPPI World Congress in Istanbul, a packed-out room of attendees was treated to a UPC mock trial. The illustrious judging panel featured three UPC judges, with Edger Brinkman as Presiding Judge joined by Peter Tochtermann and Petri Rinkinen. The mock scenario concerned an application for a preliminary injunction (PI)…
The Status Quo injunction is not a variation on Wayne’s World classic “No Stairway, Denied” joke. While some may yearn for a ban on their generic tunes, Status Quo is still not denied. That is not the faith of all generics, as Teva found out in Dutch litigation over its generic version of Grünenthal’s Nebido:…
The Helsinki division of the Unified Patent Court rejected an injunction request by AIM Sport against Supponor, because the reversal of the opt-out of the patent in dispute was deemed in contradiction with the UPCA. Article 83 (4) of the Unified Patent Court Agreement reads: ‘Unless an action has already been brought before a national…
