UPC_CFI_ 559/2024 – Quantificare v Canfield

Court
Local Division Düsseldorf
Date
Outcome
Granted
Sector
Other
Decision Type
PROCEDURAL

Expert Commentary

No bifurcation The Court Even before the end of the written proceedings, the Court decided not to bifurcate and to ask for a Technically Qualified Judge. Comment Although in the Rules formulated as an exception, it is indeed recommended to make a decision as soon as possible and have the TQJ participating in the proceedings as quickly as possible.

Full Decision Text

1 Local division Düsseldorf UPC_CFI_559/2024 Procedural order of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court issued on 2 July 2025 concerning EP 3 156 843 B1 CLAIMANT: QUANTIFICARE S.A., 1180 Route Dolines. Athena B, 06560 Valbone, France represented by: Attorney Dr Felix Klopmeier, Lang & Rahmann Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB, Kaistraße 20, 40221 Dusseldorf, Germany assisting: Patent attorneys Michalski Hüttemann & Partner, Kaistraße 16A, 40221 Düsseldorf, Germany electronic address for service: felix.klopmeier@lang-rahmann.de DEFENDANT: 1. Canfield Scientific GmbH, Otto-Brenner-Str. 203, 33604 Bielefeld, Germany 2. Canfield Scientific, Inc, 4 Wood Hollow Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054, United States of America 3. Canfield Scientific Europe B.V., Proostwetering 28A, 3543 AE, Utrecht, The Netherlands 4. Canfield Scientific s.r.l., Via Panaro n.1, 41057 Spilamberto, Modena, Italy 5. ESTHETEC SAS, 6 rue Claude Dalsème, 92190 Meudon, Paris, France Defendants 1) to 5) represented by: Miriam Kiefer, LL.M., attorney-at-law Dr Benjamin Pesch, lawyer Dr Benedikt Walesch, LL.M., Kather Augenstein Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB, Bahnstraße 16, 40212 Düsseldorf, Germany Contributing: Patent attorney Dr Udo Weigelt, LL.M., attorney Sebastian Ochs, Grünecker Patent- und Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB, Leopoldstraße 4, 80802 Munich, Germany 2025-07-02_LD_Dusseldorf_UPC_CFI_559-2024_ORD_29159-2025_ORD_29159-2025_en-GB.pdf DeepL machine translation provided by www.veron.com 2 Electronic address for service: kiefer@katheraugenstein.com STREITPATENT: European Patent No. EP 3 156 843 B1 PANEL/CHAMBER: Panel of the Düsseldorf local division, JUDGES: This Order was issued by presiding judge Thomas, legally qualified judge Dr Schumacher as rapporteur and legally qualified judge Agergaard. LANGUAGE OF THE PROCEEDINGS: German SUBJECT: Art. 33(3)(a) UPCA in conjunction with R. 37.2 RP. R. 37.2 RoP ORDER: Since the parties did not raise any objections to such a procedure, the question of how to proceed with regard to Art. 33 para. 3 UPCA could already be decided before the conclusion of the written procedure and answered in the sense of a procedure pursuant to Art. 33 para. 3 lit. a) UPCA. Even if the panel is to decide on the procedure under Article 33(3) UPCA by Order as soon as possible after the conclusion of the written proceedings in accordance with R. 37.1 PANEL, it may take an earlier decision in accordance with R. 37.2 PANEL if it takes into account the parties' submissions and grants them the right to be heard. This option is utilised in the present case for reasons of procedural economy. In particular, it appears appropriate to obtain the allocation of the technical judge at an early stage. The local division exercises its discretion by hearing both the infringement action and the counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity (Art. 33 para. 3 lit. a) UPCA). Such a joint hearing of infringement and nullity counterclaims appears to make sense for reasons of efficiency alone. It is also advantageous in terms of content, as it allows a decision to be made on both the legal validity and the infringement issue on the basis of a uniform interpretation by the same court. ORDER: For these reasons, the Düsseldorf local division orders, after hearing the parties, that it will hear both the infringement action and the counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JUDGE-RAPPORTEUR: The Judge-Rapporteur is to request the President of the Court of First Instance to allocate a technically qualified judge to the panel. 2025-07-02_LD_Dusseldorf_UPC_CFI_559-2024_ORD_29159-2025_ORD_29159-2025_en-GB.pdf DeepL machine translation provided by www.veron.com 3 DETAILS OF THE ORDER: ORD_ 29159/2025 for the main file numbers ACT_53557/2024 and CC_6773/2025 UPC number: UPC_CFI_559/2024 and UPC_CFI_106/2025 Type of proceedings: Action for infringement and action for annulment Issued in Düsseldorf on 2 July 2025 NAMES AND SIGNATURES Presiding judge Thomas Judge Dr Schumacher, legally qualified Legally qualified judge Agergaard 2025-07-02_LD_Dusseldorf_UPC_CFI_559-2024_ORD_29159-2025_ORD_29159-2025_en-GB.pdf DeepL machine translation provided by www.veron.com

Key Holdings

  • Early decision against bifurcation.
  • Technical Judge requested early in proceedings.

Tags

  • Bifurcation
  • Case Management
  • Procedural Efficiency
  • Technically Qualified Judge

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