UPC_CoA_956/2025 – NJOY v VMR
- Court
- Court of Appeal
- Date
- Outcome
- Denied
- Sector
- Other
- Decision Type
- PROCEDURAL
Expert Commentary
Decision by default President of the Court of Appeal 1. The appellant filed an appeal against a dismissal of a revocation action by the Paris Central Division. 2. The appellant informed the Court of Appeal that they would not pay the court fee and expected the Court to reject the appeal by a judgment by default. Decision The appeal was rejected as inadmissible by a decision by default. Comment Apparently, the appellant decided not to pursue the appeal and did not pay the required EUR 20,000 court fee.
Full Decision Text
1 DECISION BY DEFAULT of the President of the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court issued on 1 April 2025 pursuant to Rule 229.4 RoP concerning EP 2 875 740 APPELLANT AND CLAIMANT : NJOY Netherlands B.V., Westerdoksdjik 423, 1013BX Amsterdam, Netherlands Represented by Hon.-Prof. Dr. Henrik Holzapfel, Rechtsanwalt, McDermott Will & Emery, Düsseldorf, Germany RESPONDENT AND DEFENDANT: VMR Products LLC, 3050 Biscayne Boulevard, 8th Floor, Florida 33137, Miami, United States of America Represented by Bernhard Thum, europäischer Patentanwalt, Thum Mötsch Weickert Patentanwälte PartG mbB, Munich, Germany PATENT AT ISSUE European Patent n° 2 875 740, hereafter: EP’740 DECIDING JUDGE: Dr. Klaus Grabinski, President of the Court of Appeal IMPUGNED DECISION OR ORDER OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE Order of the Court of First Instance (Paris Central Division) dated 29 November 2024, Order no. ORD_598496/2023, in the proceedings UPC_CFI_307/2023, ACT_571537/2023 SUMMARY OF FACTS By decision of 29 November 2024, the Court of First Instance dismissed the Appellant’s revocation action against EP’740. The Appellant filed an appeal against this decision on 29 January 2025 requesting that I. The decision of 29 November 2024, Order no. ORD_598496/2023, in the proceedings UPC_CFI_307/2023, ACT_571537/2023 is to be set aside. II. European patent n° EP 2 875 740 be revoked with effect for the territories Action n°: UPC_CoA_80/2025PR_APL_4 956/2025 2 of France and Germany. III. The Defendant be ordered to bear the legal costs of the proceedings. On 25 February 2025 the Appellant was invited by the Court to pay the court fee for the appeal proceedings, in the amount of 20.000 EUR, within 14 days. By submission of 11 March 2025, the Appellant informed the Court that he “will not pay the court fees” because he “does not wish to pursue the appeal”. Furthermore, the Appellant’s representative stated that he “expects and suggest that the Court will reject the appeal as inadmissible by a decision by default under RoP 229.4.” and that the Appellant “waives its right to be further heard on this point under Rule 229.4”. GROUNDS FOR THE DECISION R. 229.4 RoP states that the President of the Court of Appeal shall reject the appeal as inadmissible by a decision by default if the appellant fails to pay the fee. Since the appellant was, in accordance with R. 229.2(b) and .3 RoP and R. 228 RoP, invited by the Court to pay the fee and failed to do so within 14 days, the requirements for a decision by default are met. Appellant did not need to be heard given the waiver in its submission of 11 March 2025. As a result, the appeal must be rejected as inadmissible pursuant to R. 229.2(b), .3 and .4, R. 357.1 and .3, and R. 355.1(a) RoP. DECISION The appeal is rejected as inadmissible. Done and delivered on 1 April 2025 President of the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court
Key Holdings
- Appeal rejected as inadmissible (default).
- Failure to pay court fee.
Tags
- Appeal
- Court Fees
- Default Judgment