Case Reports

IMC Créations is a French company specialising in anti-theft systems for vehicles, particularly commercial vehicles. Among other things, it sells locks for the side and rear doors of commercial vehicles. Mul-T-Lock belongs to the Assa Abloy group and specialises in high security locking and access control systems, in particular pick-resistant keys and locks. IMC alleged that Mul-T-Lock’s MPV 1000 padlock infringes its unitary patent EP4153830 and the corresponding Swiss national validation.

The dispute arises out of earlier proceedings between Heraeus Electronics GmbH & Co. KG (claimant) and Vibrantz GmbH (defendant), relating to European Patent No. 3215288. The Munich Local Division issued a substantive decision on 10 October 2025 addressing infringement and a counterclaim for revocation. Among other findings, the court partially revoked the patent in three Contracting Member States and dismissed the infringement action. In its cost decision, the court apportioned 40% of the costs to the defendant and 60% to the claimant.

It was foreseen that the requirements of the Unitary Patent Regulation (1257/2012) might result that old European patent applications (effective filing date before 1 March 2007) could be ineligible for unitary patent protection. The UPC has now confirmed the view of the EPO that this is indeed the case.

The UPC Mannheim Local Division revoked Centripetal’s patent relating to automated cyber‑event analysis, finding the claimed combination of static and machine‑learned algorithms anticipated by prior art (HAWK) and additional amendments lacking inventive step. With the patent invalidated in Germany and France, the infringement claim against Palo Alto Networks was dismissed. An appeal to the UPC Court of Appeal remains possible.

The UPC Munich Local Division invalidated Sanofi’s cabazitaxel patent, finding that Phase III clinical trial disclosures created a reasonable expectation of success—departing from the EPO’s earlier conclusion.

The UPC Court of Appeal’s November 2025 decisions in Amgen v. Sanofi and Meril v. Edwards provide the most comprehensive guidance to date on inventive step, claim construction, sufficiency, added matter, and procedural rules. The Court clarified how the “objective problem” should be formulated, reinforced the need for a clear pointer or motivation for obviousness, and aligned many principles with established EPO and national case law. The judgments also address injunctions, proportionality, costs, competence, and amendment admissibility—making them essential reading for anyone navigating UPC litigation.

Hurom v. NUC UPC-CFI_162/2024 LD Mannheim Decision of 2 October 2025

The UPC’s Munich Local Division denied Onward Medical’s bid for a preliminary injunction against Niche Biomedical, finding serious doubts over the novelty of the granted claim of EP 3 421 081 B1 in light of the Yoo prior art. The court also rejected all eight auxiliary claim requests, holding that amended claims cannot be used to establish likely validity in provisional‑measures proceedings. The decision reinforces that interim relief is only available for patents that appear robust in their granted form.

The Unified Patent Court rejected Black Sheep’s request for a declaration of non-infringement (DNI) for an alternative product design. The court found the request inadmissible because HL Display had not asserted infringement against the alternative design, and Black Sheep had not formally sought acknowledgment of non-infringement before filing the counterclaim.

Kodak v. Fujifilm (UPC CoA 699/2025, order of 14 October 2025)[1] According to Art. 82(2) UPCA and Rule 354.3 RoP, a party may be sanctioned with a recurring penalty payment, payable to the UPC, if...

Insulet v. EOFlow UPC_CFI_773/2025 and UPC_CFI 774/2025 (Milan CD), decision of 15 October 2025[1] The dispute began when Insulet sought a provisional injunction against EOFlow to prevent...

Brita v. Aquashield UPC CFI 248/2024 (Munich LD), decision of 22 August 2025[1] UPC CFI 564/2024 (Munich LD), decision of 16 October 2025[2] Brita sued Aquashield and others for infringement of...

In a clash of a Cantonese restaurant called CHINA TANG and a Chinese takeaway also called CHINA TANG, the former succeeds.Background The Claimants in this case run a Cantonese restaurant called...

Following on from Mr Justice Meade's judgment on the preliminary issues in the re-match between Neurim (and Flynn) and Generics (UK) Ltd (now trading as Viatris but formerly Mylan) concerning a...

A design, which is no doubt familiar to most readers, has been held invalid by Recorder Douglas Campbell QC in a recent IPEC decision (here).BackgroundThe Claimant, Mr Erol, brought a claim against...

This judgment concerns a three-fold application by the Defendants (together "KnitPro") brought in the context of a long running trade mark dispute relating to knitting needles.

With a back catalogue to rival Bob Dylan, the latest development in the Neurim – Mylan battle over Mylan's generic melatonin product saw Mr Justice Meade referee the trial of preliminary issues in...

We reported last year that the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC) were progressing. The main hurdle left to clear was sufficient countries ratifying the Protocol on the Provisional...

In Fleur Tehrani v Hamilton Bonaduz AG & Ors [2021] EWHC 3457 (IPEC), heard before the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, ("IPEC") the court conducted an assessment of the validity of a patent...

BackgroundOriginal Beauty (“Claimants”) alleged infringement of their unregistered design rights under UK and EU law and that the defendants had passed off their brand “Oh Polly” (“Defendants”) as a...

The Court of Appeal has upheld the first instance judgment in Penhallurick v MD5 Limited and agreed that MD5 Limited ("MD5") still owns the copyright of the works in this dispute; and thus dismissing...

On 11 February 2021, the High Court ruled in favour of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, in her dispute against Associated Newspapers over the publication of a number of articles in ‘The Mail on...

IntroductionThe recent decision of the UK Supreme Court in the Unwired Planet v Huawei, and Conversant v Huawei & ZTE appeals which affirmed the UK court's jurisdiction to determine global FRAND...

Neurim has been allowed to continue its case in the UK, in which it is seeking an injunction against Defendant Mylan for selling its generic melatonin product, which Neurim says infringes its...

The UK High Court maintained "external eyes only" protection for a class of documents central to the Claimants' loss of profits claim in an inquiry as to damages.

Columbia Pictures, Disney, Netflix & Ors v British Telecommunications, Sky, Virgin & Ors [2021] EWHC 2799 (Ch)The applicants (the "Studios") are members of popular studio groups who own the copyright...

Dear young Vanessa,I know you’re about to undergo another operation, in fact I’ve lost count. You were born with a congenital deformity, despite having many surgeries, it’s a long- term condition but...