UPC_CFI_697/2025_Sep17_CaseMgmt – Merz v Viatris
- Court
- Local Division Paris
- Date
- Outcome
- Granted
- Sector
- Other
- Decision Type
- PROCEDURAL
Expert Commentary
Case management of a PI Facts 1. Merz asked for preliminary injunction (“PI”) measures in an application of 30 pages served on 10 August 2025. 2. The Court sets a time scheme for a defence, reply, rejoinder and oral hearing (on 10 October 2025). 3. Viatris filed a defence of 473 pages. 4. Merz objected and asked for a consolidated defence. The JR Ordered: 1. Viatris to file a 70 pages summary of the main points; 2. Merz to file a reply 10 days later focused on invalidity matters; 3. The JR will set up a case management hearing at least one week before the oral hearing. Comment Excellent case management! Representatives who thought to frustrate PI proceedings by filing a 473 pages answer saw their strategy fail. You wonder how strong your case (a pharma dispute) is, if you need 473 pages for your defence!
Full Decision Text
Paris Local Division UPC_CFI_697/2025 Procedural Order of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court delivered on 17/09/2025 APPLICANTS 1) Merz Therapeutics GmbH Eckenheimer Landstraße 100 60318 Frankfurt am Main - DE 2) Merz Pharmaceuticals LLC Unit 35/36, 6601 Six Forks Road, 4th Floor 27615 Raleigh, North Carolina - US 3) Merz Pharma France Tour EQHO, 2 Avenue Gambetta 92400 Courbevoie – FR Represented by Laëtitia Bénard RESPONDENT – DEFENDANT Viatris Santé 1 rue de Turin 69007 Lyon – FR Represented by Marc Lauzeral 1 PATENT AT ISSUE Patent no. Proprietor EP2377536 Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC Patent no. SPC details EP2377536 SPC ID FR13C0033 National Designations FR Patent no. SPC ID National Holders Designations EP2377536 FR13C0033 FR Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC COMPOSITION OF THE FULL PANEL Presiding judge & Camille Lignières Judge-rapporteur Legally qualified judge Carine Gillet Legally qualified judge Samuel Granata Technically qualified judge Rainer Friedrich DECIDING judge Camille Lignieres, acting as Judge-rapporteur LANGUAGE OF PROCEEDINGS: English ORDER Facts and procedure: On 31 July 2025 MERZ en es lodged before the present Division an applica on of 30 pages (plus 6 pages for Annexes) for provisional measures pursuant to Ar cle 62 UPCA and Rule 206 RoP . This applica on was served on the Defendant (VIATRIS) on 10 August 2025. 2 By order of 18 August 2025 pursuant to Rule 209.1 RoP, the Judge rapporteur has invited the par es to comply with the metable and summoned the par es to an oral hearing, as follows: Timetable • Defendant's Objec on by 15 September 2025 • Claimants’ last Reply by 25 September 2025 (a brief note, max 10 pages) • Defendant's Rejoinder by 3 October 2025 (a brief note, max 10 pages) And the Oral Hearing was confirmed to take place on 10 October 2025. The Objec on was filed by VIATRIS on 15 September 2025 with 473 pages (plus 8 pages for An- nexes). On 16 September 2025, MERZ filed a procedural applica on under R.9 RoP reques ng that the Court: A) As a primary claim 1. Orders the Respondent, under Rule 9.1 of the UPC Rules of Procedure, to file by a date deemed reasonable by the Court, such as 17 September 2025 18:00 CET, a consolidated Objec- on not exceeding a number of pages deemed reasonable by the Court, such as 70 pages (exclu- sive of annexes), with the 481-page version treated as withdrawn and expunged from the record; and 2. Grants the Applicants leave, pursuant to Rule 9.3 of the UPC Rules of Procedure, to file a Reply not exceeding a number of pages deemed reasonable by the Court, such as 40 pages (exclusive of annexes), by 29 September 2025; B) Or, in the alterna ve 1. Orders the Respondent, under Rule 9.1 of the UPC Rules of Procedure, to file by a date deemed reasonable by the Court, such as 17 September 2025 18:00 CET, a consolidated Objec- on not exceeding a number of pages deemed reasonable by the Court, such as 100 pages (ex- clusive of annexes), with the 481-page version treated as withdrawn and expunged from the rec- ord; and 2. Grants the Applicants leave, pursuant to Rule 9.3 of the UPC Rules of Procedure, to file a Reply not exceeding a number of pages deemed reasonable by the Court, such as 70 pages (exclusive of annexes), by 29 September 2025. MERZ argues notably that this manifest disparity in the par es’ wri en submissions will deprive the Applicants of an equal opportunity to defend their case, overburden the Court with prolix submissions contrary to procedural economy, and jeopardise the integrity and meliness of the 10 October hearing. In reply of 16 September 2025, VIATRIS provided the following comments to object to the re- quest from MERZ: -The submissions ‘layout facilitates easier reading, and based on Merz’s layout, the Submissions are 177 pages long. -Due to Merz’s argumenta on, Viatris must answer all the arguments raised over the 6844 pages in the opposi on proceedings. -The 177-page long discussion is jus fied by the object of the proceedings: two intellectual prop- erty rights, namely a SPC and a patent. Alterna vely, VIATRIS would accept to summarise its Objec on on 140 pages via a new Exhibit filed by 21 September 2025 and would not oppose MERZ having the right to answer in 100 pages. GROUNDS 3 A provisional measure applica on pursuant to R. 206 RoP is dealt with in the context of summary proceedings due to an urgent situa on. In the present case, the Applica on filed was reasonable enough with 30 pages. Even if two Intellectual Property tles are involved, the 470-page objec on filed by the Defend- ants is not appropriate in the context of provisional measures, par cularly given the meline es- tablished by the judge rapporteur. ORDER In light of the principles of procedural economy, fairness and efficiency, the judge rapporteur or- ders that: - VIATRIS files a 70-page summary of the main points of its Objec on by 19 September 2025 at 2 pm. - MERZ files its 40-page Reply focused on validity ma ers by 29 September 2025 at 2 pm. - Moreover, the judge rapporteur will set up a case management mee ng with the representa- ves at least one week before the oral hearing to organise its prac cal modali es. -This order may be reviewed by the panel pursuant to R. 333 RoP. Issued in Paris, on 17 September 2025. C. LIGNIERES, Judge rapporteur Date : 2025.09.17 15:52:17 +02'00' ORDER DETAILS Order no. ORD_37065/2025 UPC number: UPC_CFI_697/2025 Related proceeding no. Application No.: 33980/2025 Application Type: Application for provisional measures (RoP206) 4
Key Holdings
- Defendant ordered to summarize 473-page defence into 70 pages.
- Reply limited to invalidity.
- Case management hearing scheduled.
Tags
- Case Management
- Page Limits
- Preliminary Injunction