UPC_CFI_698/2024 – ALIUD Pharma - Accord v Novartis
- Court
- Central Division Milan
- Date
- Outcome
- Granted
- Sector
- Other
- Decision Type
- PROCEDURAL
Expert Commentary
Access to documents Background ALIUD filed an application for access to documents, specifically the Statement of Claim (of Accord) and the Statement of Defence (of Novartis) in a DNI action. Novartis opposed the request. A month after the application, the parties (Accord and Novartis) reached a settlement. Thereafter Novartis informed the Court that it no longer objected, with the exception of the redaction of personal data. The JR 1. Since the proceedings between Accord and Novartis were closed, Novartis could no longer file a redacted version itself. 2. The JR instructed the Registry to produce the documents, blacking out personal (sur)names. Comment I do not understand why Novartis could not produce redacted versions after the main proceedings closed, especially since the access to documents proceedings themselves were not yet closed. Why should the poor Registrar have to do this work? The JR should have ordered Novartis to produce the redacted version. Assuming ALIUD would not have objected against what Novartis redacted that would have resolved the matter. Ultimately, I think if Novartis only wanted a redacted version released, they could have filed such a version with the Statement of Defence or at least in their response to the request of ALIUD. Since they failed to do so, the JR could arguably have refused the late redaction request instead of burdening the Registry.
Full Decision Text
1 Milan - Central Division - First Instance - central division UPC_CFI_698/2024 Order of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court delivered on 10/04/2025 APPLICANT/S 1) ALIUD PHARMA GmbH (Applicant) - Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 19 - 89150 - Laichingen - DE Represented by Phillip Rektorschek RELEVANT PROCEEDING PARTIES ACCORD HEALTHCARE S.L.U. main proceedings claimant - Edificio Este, Planta 6, World Trade Center, Moll de Barcelona S/N - 08039 - Barcelona - ES ACCORD HEALTHCARE LIMITED, - Sage House, 319 Pinner Road, North Harrow - HA1 4HF - Middlesex - GB ACCORD HEALTHCARE B.V. - Winthontlaan 200 - 3526 KV - Utrecht - NL Novartis AG (Main proceeding party - Defendant) - Lichtstrasse 35 - 4056 - Basel - CH 2 PATENT AT ISSUE Patent no. Proprietor/s EP2501384 Novartis AG DECIDING JUDGE: judge rapporteur LANGUAGE OF PROCEEDINGS: English ORDER On 27 February 2025, ALIUD PHARMA G.m.b.H, Gottlieb-Daimler-Straße 19, Laichingen, Germany, filed an application with the Court of First Instance for access to the documents filed by the companies belonging to the ACCORD group on 14 November 2024 (Statement of Claim DNI, Annexes TW01 to TW 36) and to the documents filed by the defendant NOVARTIS on 10 February 2025 (Defence to Statement of Claim DNI, Annexes FS01 to FS 19, Exhibits). The main parties to the proceedings were invited to submit observations. Only NOVARTIS filed a written statement opposing the application. In the meantime, the main parties to the proceedings have reached a settlement and the proceedings were closed on 28 March 2025. On 8 April 2025, NOVARTIS' representatives sent the following email to the Court: ‘Your Honour, We are writing on behalf of our client, Novartis AG following the closure of the action for declaration of noninfringement between Accord and Novartis (UPC_CFI 698/2024) (the “DNI Action”). Novartis maintains its position as set out in its submissions regarding Aliud’s application for access to documents in the DNI Action as at the time that application was filed, which were submitted before the DNI Action was closed. However, in light of the closure of the DNI Action, Novartis no longer objects to Aliud’s request for access to documents in these proceedings. Novartis does not consider that any parts of Accords’ Statement of Claim or its Exhibits, or Novartis’ Defence or its Exhibits, need to be kept confidential, save for the requirement for the redaction of personal data, including names, email addresses and signatures of the parties’ employees and counsels, from any documents provided to Aliud’. Novartis no longer opposes ALIUD's request. ACCORD has not submitted a statement. In the absence of any opposition, the request can be granted. However, as the main proceedings are closed, NOVARTIS is no longer able to produce a redacted copy of the documents pursuant to Rule 262.2. To address this issue, the judge does not consider it necessary to redact the parties' digital signatures, as according to the EUCJ (judgment in case C 200-23), only the handwritten signature of the natural person is covered by the GDPR (Article 4.1 of Regulation 2016/679). As far as emails are concerned, only those that reveal the first and last name of the person are covered by the GDPR, therefore not company emails such as info@company.domain and those whose characteristics do not allow the identity of the person to be established. To that end, the Court instructs the Registry to produce, within 15 days, a redacted copy of all the documents covered by ALIUD's request, with the emails with the above characteristics deleted. 3 Milan 10.04.2025 Judge rapporteur Andrea Postiglione INSTRUCTIONS TO THE PARTIES AND TO THE REGISTRY the Court instructs the clerk to prepare within 15 days a redacted copy of all documents concerned by ALIUD’s request, blacking out the emails that might reveal the person's name or surname (therefore not business emails like info@company.domain) and those from whose characteristics it is possible to trace the person's identity. ORDER DETAILS Order no. ORD_12069/2025 in ACTION NUMBER: ACT_61148/2024 UPC number: UPC_CFI_698/2024 Action type: Declaration of Non-Infringement Related proceeding no. Application No.: 10151/2025 Application Type: APPLICATION_ROP262_1_b
Key Holdings
- Access to documents granted with redactions for personal data.
- Registry ordered to perform redactions as proceedings closed.
Tags
- Access to Documents
- Redaction
- Settlement