On December 13, 2011, in the case "Aventis Pharma S.A. v. Sandoz S.A. et al on patent infringement. Damages", Division 1 of the National Court of Appeals on Federal Civil and Commercial Matters examined the requirement of appraising the amount claimed when filing a complaint for patent infringement.
The plaintiff, Aventis Pharma S.A., had filed a lawsuit for
patent infringement, and stated at that point that the amount
claimed could not be determined. Consequently, as prescribed by
Argentine law, the plaintiff paid only the minimum court
fees.
When answering the claim, defendant filed a motion to dismiss
based on the lack of determination of the amount claimed. The
defendant argued that the plaintiff had enough information and data
to specify the amount claimed and that, by not doing so, it had
affected its rights of defense.
The lower Court rejected the defendant's motion and the Court
of Appeals confirmed this decision, based on the exception set
forth in section 330 subsection 6 of the Argentine Code of Civil
and Commercial Procedure, which allows the plaintiff not to
determine at the outset of the litigation process the specific
amount claimed when it depends on the evidence to be produced
during the process.
Therefore, in case of an alleged patent infringement, the
plaintiff would be exempted from determining the exact amount
claimed when it can only be seriously established once the evidence
has been produced (for instance, having an expert accountant check
the defendant's books).
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