Arctic
Invent
Case Registry
Dashboard
Case Explorer
Back to Explorer
Update Case Entry
Manually curate individual case documents inside the PostgreSQL engine.
Case Lawsuit Title
*
Case / Trial ID Number
Jurisdiction Code
*
us
in
upc
eu
Category
*
Patent
Trademark
Copyright
Design
Filing Date
Decision Verdict Date
Court / Tribunal
Bench / Panel Judges
Petitioner / Claimant (Plaintiff)
Martin Lionel
Respondent / Defendant
BITZER Electronics A/S
Dispute Summary
This UPC decision addressed a procedural request by an individual seeking public access to various documents related to a patent revocation action. The judge-rapporteur rejected the application, clarifying the scope of document disclosure under the Rules of Procedure (RoP). The ruling emphasizes that 'written pleadings and evidence' must be lodged by parties to qualify for Rule 262(1)(b) access, excluding internal Registry communications or court orders.
Outcome / Ruling
denied
Verdict Document PDF URL
Full text judgment
Central Division Paris Seat ORDER of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court Central division (Paris seat) issued on 6 March 2024 concerning the Application RoP262.1(b) No. App_6758/2024 lodged in the proceedings UPC_CFI_263/2023 HEADNOTES: request for public access to register KEYWORDS: documents issued the Registry REFERENCE CODE ECLI: APPLICANT: Martin Lionel - 7 rue de Téhéran, 75008 Paris, France RESPONDENTS: BITZER Electronics A/S - Kærvej 77 - 6400 - Sønderborg - DK represented by Tilman Pfrang, Meissner Bolte Carrier Corporation - 13995 Pasteur Blvd. - FL 33418 - Palm Beach Gardens - US represented by Gregory Lees PATENT AT ISSUE: European patent n° EP 3 414 708 PANEL: Presiding judge François Thomas Judge-rapporteur Paolo Catallozzi Technically qualified judge Ulrike Keltsch DECIDING JUDGE: This order has been issued by the judge-rapporteur Paolo Catallozzi SUMMARY OF FACTS AND PARTIES’ REQUESTS: 1. On 29 June 2023 BITZER Electronics A/S brought an action against Carrier Corporation before this Seat of the Unified Patent Court, registered firstly as PR_ACT_536477/2023 UPC_CFI_188/2023 and then as No. ACT_555899/2023 UPC_CFI_263/2023, asking for the revocation of the patent at issue to the extent of claim 1. 2. On 6 February 2024 the applicant lodged an application, pursuant to Rule 262 (1) (b) of the Rules of Procedures (‘RoP’), registered as No. App_6758/2024, seeking access to the following documents related to the revocation action proceedings: notification under Rule 16 (3) (a) of the Rules of Procedures (‘RoP’) by the Registrar; subsequent communication under Rule 17 (1) (c) by the Registrar; three “Acknowledgment-of-lodging” in ACT_555899/2023 UPC_CFI_263/2023; the “Formal-checks_Notification-of-positive-outcome” in ACT_555899/2023 UPC_CFI_263/2023; the decision ORD_591040/2023 of January 8, 2024, in App_590707/2023 UPC_CFI_263/2023. 3. The respondents, consulted by the Court, did not lodge any comment on the application. GROUNDS FOR THE ORDER 4. The applicant has based its request on the fact that in the current proceedings the Registrar has issued a notification under Rule 16 (3) (a) ‘RoP’ for correction of deficiencies of the statement for revocation and then has informed the claimant of the date of receipt of the correction pursuant to Rule 18 (1) (c) ‘RoP’. 5. He has argued that it is of peculiar importance to know whether the intermediate opt-out, filed on 13 July 2023, has been effective or not. 6. The judge-rapporteur notes that, pursuant to the referred to Rule 262 (1) (b) ‘RoP’, ‘written pleadings and evidence, lodged at the Court and recorded by the Registry shall be available to the public upon reasoned request to the Registry; …’. 7. The Rule has to be interpreted, according to the literal wording of the provision, meaning that it refers to only written pleadings and evidence lodged by the parties and that it does not include other documents which are uploaded in the CMS (see UPC_CFI_75/2023 CD Munich, order of 21 September 2023). 8. It follows that Rule 262 (1) (b) ‘RoP’ does not apply to the request to access to communication occurred between the Registry and the parties and to evidence of activities carried out by the Registry. 9. Therefore, the applicant’s request to access to documents, uploaded in the CMS, concerning the examination of the formal requirement of the statement for revocation executed by the Registry and the relative communications, does not fall under the scope of this Rule. 10. The same can be said with regard to the request to access to order ORD_591040/2023 of 8 January 2024, issued by the Court regarding a request of stay of the proceedings, because it cannot be deemed as written pleadings or evidence lodged by one of the parties. 11. It may be added that the interest of members of the public to know the status of a patent and, in particular, whether it is subject to an opt-out or not can be satisfied by accessing to the Register pursuant to Art. 37 of the Rules governing the Registry of the Unified Patent Court. 12. The applicant has affirmed that he has interest in knowing the filing date of the statement for revocation lodged in the current proceedings, so that he can determine if the opt-out of the patent that occurred between the date of the lodging of the statement of claim and the date of the lodging of its corrected version is effective or not. 13. At this regard, it is not clear which is the specific interest that the applicant, as a member of the public, has in understanding the legal implication of the opt-out in the proceedings at hand and, anyway, the determination of the opt-out's effectiveness ultimately rests with the Court's decision on the revocation action. 14. Lastly, it may be observed that according to Rule 262 (1) (a) ‘RoP’ all decisions and orders made by the Court are published, fulfilling the applicant's need to access order ORD_591040/2023 of 8 January 2024. ORDER For these grounds, having heard the parties, the judge-rapporteur: - rejects the application. Issued on 6 March 2024. Judge-rapporteur Paolo Catallozzi Paolo Catallozzi Firmato digitalmente da Paolo Catallozzi Data: 2024.03.06 12:26:25 +01'00'
Cancel
Update Case