Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

UPC first permanent injunction: Franz Kaldewei v Bette, auxiliary request upheld, EPO-style validity analysis, prior-use rights strictly territorial; plus DexCom v Abbott patent revoked

Published on: 26 July 2024

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

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Article summary

The hearing stemmed from an infringement action lodged soon after the court’s launch on 1 June 2023. It took place on 16 May 2024, with judgment handed down on 3 July 2024. Encouragingly, the UPC has nearly achieved its ambition of delivering a final ruling within twelve months of commencement and within six weeks of the oral session. This timetable broadly reflects the UPC’s target of a decision within twelve months of commencement, and within six weeks after the oral hearing. The disputed patent was EP 3375337, owned by Franz Kaldewei GmbH & Co KG, concerning a ‘Bathtub Sanitation Device’. As claimant, Franz Kaldewei alleged that the defendant, Bette GmbH & Co KG, infringed claims 1–3 across several contracting EU Member States where the patent remained in force—Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Bette, in response, attacked the patent’s validity by counterclaim. Franz Kaldewei contested those invalidity grounds and submitted an auxiliary request, amending claim 1 to incorporate the features of granted claims 2 and 3. Bette likewise disputed the auxiliary request’s validity and additionally asserted entitlement to a right of prior use, as highlighted in the foregoing account of events and timing, due to...

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