Germany: Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

The Local Division Düsseldorf of the Unified Patent Court has confirmed a settlement agreement between OTEC Präzisionsfinish GmbH and ANCA Europe GmbH concerning European Patent EP 2 983 864. This procedural confirmation follows Rule 365(1) Sentence 2 of the Rules of Procedure, marking the formal conclusion of the dispute between the parties.

The Local Division Düsseldorf of the Unified Patent Court addresses a request for file inspection in a patent dispute between Franz Kaldewei GmbH & Co. KG and Bette GmbH & Co. KG. The case involves European Patent EP 3 375 337 B1 and procedural matters under Rule 262.1(b) of the Rules of Procedure.

The Local Division Munich reviews a confidentiality order in patent infringement proceedings between CA, Inc. and Deutsche Telekom entities concerning EP 1 955 151. The case involves complex procedural questions under the Unified Patent Court Rules of Procedure regarding confidentiality protections and access to sensitive information in parallel infringement and revocation actions.

A European patent covering a method for monitoring textile manufacturing processes was revoked after appeal proceedings found that its distinguishing features lacked technical character. The Technical Board of Appeal examined whether data processing steps for predicting manufacturing parameters could contribute to inventive step when their subsequent technical use was not explicitly specified in the claims.

The Enlarged Board of Appeal at the European Patent Office is poised to resolve a fundamental question that has divided patent practitioners for years: must patent descriptions...

The Enlarged Board of Appeal will address fundamental questions about how patent claims should be interpreted using the description and drawings, and what this means for assessing whether amendments introduce added subject-matter. Three competing approaches have emerged in Board of Appeal decisions following G 1/24, each leading to different outcomes when determining if claim amendments extend beyond the original application.

Why is mediation such a success story in the Anglo-American dispute resolution scene while the German market still seems to belittle this powerful mechanism in business cases?

In an important decision this year (I ZB 48/24), the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed that parties can agree to exclude the application of German law on general terms and conditions...

During its first two years, the UPC has already proven itself as a fast and reliable, high-quality venue, with a growing body of case law making it even more predictable day after day.