Case Reports

UPC Case Reports

Replacement parts and the value of asserting a narrower claim combination
17 July 2026
The UPC's Düsseldorf Local Division found that Wessper's cartridges indirectly infringed Brita's patent, and that a narrower claim combination can turn a consumable into an essential element.
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UPC
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Infringement
Late Applications for Provisional Measures Refused for Lack of Urgency
14 July 2026
In Ericsson v ASUSTeK, the Milan Local Division refused a provisional measures application filed 21 months into the case, finding continuing infringement and rising losses alone do not establish urgency.
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UPC
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Provisional injunction
UPC revokes provisional injunction on motorbike helmet intercoms system
29 June 2026
The UPC Local Division Milan revoked Cardo's provisional injunction against Reso, ruling its helmet intercom products fall outside the scope of EP4240194, neither literally nor by equivalence.
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UPC
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Infringement
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Provisional injunction
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Doctrine of Equivalents
Preliminary objection on jurisdiction partially successful – UPC clarifies requirements of anchor-defendant jurisdiction for non-UPC territories
25 June 2026
The Hamburg Local Division let Nixu pursue US-based Infoblox in the UPC for Germany, France and Finland, but threw out the UK claim. To reach a non-UPC territory through an anchor defendant, a claimant must plead joint infringement there.
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UPC
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Preliminary objection
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Jurisdiction
UPC applies party-driven equivalence test in absence of Court of Appeal guidance
25 June 2026
The Helsinki Local Division found AIM's TV-advertising patent valid but not infringed by TGI, and with no Court of Appeal ruling on equivalence yet, adopted the four-step test both sides put forward, the UPC following the parties' lead.
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UPC
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Revocation
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Doctrine of Equivalents
Prosecution history in claim interpretation at the EPO
10 June 2026
In Agathon v Intercom, the UPC's Milan Local Division confirmed that statements made during EPO prosecution are not binding but can offer low-weight guidance on the skilled person's view — here narrowing 'abuts' against the patentee.
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UPC
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Claim interpretation
Revocation of an order to inspect and preserve evidence as Applicant did not start proceedings on the merits, R. 198.1 RoP
09 June 2026
In Otec v Steros, the UPC's Dusseldorf Local Division revoked an ex parte inspection order after the applicant failed to sue on the merits in time, ordering all preserved evidence returned and destroyed.
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UPC
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Preservation of evidence
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Revocation
UPC Court of Appeal reverses infringement ruling in both Germany and UK
05 June 2026
On 2 June 2026 the UPC Court of Appeal overturned the Mannheim Local Division's infringement findings against Kodak in both Germany and the UK, on a prior user right in Germany, and on lack of defendant liability in the UK, while upholding the validity of EP 3511174 as amended and laying down a structured framework for exercising jurisdiction over non-EU designations.
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UPC
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Appeal
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Jurisdiction
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Infringement
UPC finds infringement of two motorcycle tyres patents following international exhibition
05 June 2026
These Decisions from the Local Division of the Unified Patent Court in Milan relate to EP2519412 and EP3519207. The Applicant, Pirelli Tyre S.P.A. ("Pirelli") brought two separate infringement actions following respective seizure orders against Tianjin Kingtyre Group Co., Ltd ("Kingtyre") and Sichuan Yuanxing Rubber Co., Ltd. ("SYR"), in view of the exhibition of allegedly infringing products by the defendants at the "International Motorcycle Exhibition" ("EICMA") between 5 and 10 November 2024.
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UPC
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Infringement
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Revocation
Closest Prior Art Not Quite Close Enough
29 May 2026
WIRPLAST v VILPE (UPC Munich, April 2026): a roof-fan disclosure was a fair starting point, but the patent for a through-roof ventilation pipe with a spirit level survived; the skilled person would not have leaped.
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UPC
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Inventive step
Transfer of costs application from Court of Appeal to Court of First Instance rejected
22 April 2026
The UPC Court of Appeal ruled that it lacks jurisdiction to assess costs applications and confirmed they must be filed at the Court of First Instance, rejecting a transfer request in Rematec v Europe Forestry.
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UPC
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Costs
Revocation of an independent claim does not automatically affect the validity of unchallenged dependent claims
21 April 2026
In Emporia v Seoul Viosys, the UPC Central Division confirmed that the revocation of an independent claim does not automatically affect the validity of unchallenged claims. The decision underscores the importance of challenging all relevant claims where full patent revocation is sought.
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Revocation
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Added subject matter
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Amendments
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UPC
UPC Court of appeal issues final decision, despite no finding on infringement at first instance
30 March 2026
In Rematec v Europe Forestry, the UPC Court of Appeal overturned the Mannheim Local Division’s revocation of the patent and, applying Article 75(1) UPCA, issued a final decision on both validity and infringement despite no infringement finding at first instance. The Court adopted a narrower, description‑led approach to claim interpretation, confirmed the patent’s validity, found infringement, and granted final remedies without referring the case back to the Court of First Instance.
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UPC
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Appeal
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Infringement
Litigation insurance as security for costs
30 March 2026
In Syntorr v Arthrex, the UPC Court of Appeal clarified that while litigation insurance is not itself a form of security under Rule 158 RoP, it is a relevant factor when deciding whether security for costs should be ordered at all. By failing to consider the claimant’s insurance policy, the Munich Local Division wrongly exercised its discretion. The Court set aside the €2 million security order and confirmed that insurance can mitigate concerns about cost recoverability.
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UPC
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Security for costs
National law applies to claims for loss of profit if the events occurred before the UPC came into force
30 March 2026
In Fives v REEL, the Hamburg Local Division of the UPC dismissed a standalone damages action despite prior findings of infringement. Although the UPC was competent to assess damages, the court held that national law applied because the relevant events pre‑dated the UPC’s entry into force. Applying German law, the court found that the claimant had not proven causation or lost profit, highlighting the demanding evidentiary burden for price‑reduction damages claims and the importance of substantiating counterfactual tender outcomes.
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UPC
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Damages

Other Case Reports

Tulip Mania - Can an individual or group be said to have de-facto control over a cryptocurrency network?
27 April 2023
(Tulip Trading Limited v Van der Laan and Others [2023] EWCA Civ 83)In the Dutch Golden Age, circa 1634, the price of tulip bulbs temporarily reached extraordinarily high levels as market speculators...
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Codiphy
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Commercial IP
Late Change to Commission SEP Proposal Suggests Flawed Process
27 April 2023
The European Commission today published it's Proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (COM(2023) 232 final 2023/0133 (COD)). An initial and amended version had both been leaked shortly...
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Litigation
G2/21 – Enlarged Board Rules that Plausibility is Not the Answer
25 April 2023
Before the European Patent Office, applicants frequently wish to rely on experimental evidence obtained after the filing date of the patent application ("post-filed evidence") in order to support an...
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Software developer found to have copied former employer's code despite using different programming language and deleting the original source code
18 April 2023
BackgroundThe claimants are two companies ("PQ") that produced quality assurance software, in particular statistical process control ("SPC") software and gauge management software.
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Litigation
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Digital
Court of Appeal ends anticipation for InterDigital’s 3G Standard Essential Patent by revisiting claim construction
23 March 2023
This Update deals with an interesting determination of the Court of Appeal before Lord Justices Lewison, Asplin, and Arnold where they overturned a finding of anticipation (lack of novelty) made by...
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SEP Analysis
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Litigation
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Digital
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Patenting
A pig in wolf’s clothing? Wolfoo unable to avoid valid service by providing multiple email addresses for service.
06 March 2023
Entertainment One UK Limited & Anor v SCN Media Ltd & Ors [2022] EWHC 3295 (Ch)A seemingly global battle has begun between the owners of Peppa Pig and the makers of Wolfoo.
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Litigation
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Digital
Tulip - a cautionary tale. Do software developers owe a fiduciary duty to users of the code they write? (Tulip Trading v Van Der Laan and Others)
27 February 2023
SummaryOn 3 February 2023, the Court of Appeal in England ruled that the dispute between the Claimant, Tulip Trading Limited ("Tulip Trading") and the Defendants, who are sixteen bitcoin developers...
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Codiphy
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Digital
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Commercial IP
Director’s Liability Caught in a Tangle in Toy Making Feud in UK High Court
17 February 2023
In Tangle Inc ("Tangle") and One for Fun Ltd ("One for Fun"), Mr David Stone (sitting as Deputy High Court Judge) had to consider the liability of three directors from One for Fun as joint...
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Litigation
InterDigital v Lenovo [2023] EWCA Civ 34
16 February 2023
BackgroundAt first instance, His Honour Justice Hacon found EP 2 485 558 valid and essential to LTE. Lenovo were granted permission to appeal by Lord Justice Arnold against a finding of inventive...
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SEP Analysis
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Litigation
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Digital
A Year in Patents - Part 1/4: Swapping Simulations for the Patent Profession
14 February 2023
Dr Girish Nivarti joined EIP's London office in October 2022. In this four-part series, he chronicles his first year as a trainee patent attorney.
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Patenting
Key provisions and IP considerations of the incoming EU CHIPS Act
13 February 2023
This article originally appeared in IAM. Draft regulation not explicit on IP policy but some early guidance is on offer Act offers extensive opportunities for investment and collaboration Risk that...
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Patent Strategy
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Ampliphy
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Digital
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Patenting
Oxford University Innovation Limited v Oxford Nanoimaging Limited – a tale of pies and slices
03 February 2023
SummaryIn a very long and detailed judgment, Daniel Alexander KC, sitting as a High Court judge, examined a number of issues relating to successful inventions arising out of research work carried out...
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Litigation
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Commercial IP
VLSI agrees to dismiss latest semiconductor patent complaint against Intel in Delaware
01 February 2023
EIP partner Andrew Thompson has recently written an article for The Patent Lawyer on the VLSI v Intel case regarding a semiconductor patent complaint. Read the full article here.
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Ampliphy
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Digital
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Patenting
Court of Appeal rules that there is no territorial restriction on damages for infringement of a UK patent
19 January 2023
Anan Kasei Co. Limited & Anor v Neo Chemicals & Oxides (Europe) Limited [2023] EWCA Civ 11The Court of Appeal has recently delivered judgment dismissing the Claimants' appeal in the long-running Anan...
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Litigation
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Life
Stepping through Alice’s looking glass: Sir Anthony Mann considers the purpose of DNI actions and unlikely payments of renewal fees
17 January 2023
Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH v BOS GmbH & Co KG [2022] EWHC 2823 (Pat)Background The claimant (Dräxlmaier) sought a declaration of non-infringement under s.71 of the Patents Act (s.
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Litigation
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