Gerechtshof 's-Gravenhage, arrest van 23/04/1998 Expandable Grafts Partnership e.a. / Boston Scientific BV e.a.
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:NL:GHSGR:1998:AK3913
Date: 1998-04-23
Subject matter: Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968
Origin: Netherlands

81998NL0423(01)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
An American company is the owner of a European patent. Before the President of the Rechtbank 's-Gravenhage (NL), they claimed, in summary proceedings, an injunction for infringement of this patent against a number of companies domiciled in several Member States, Switzerland and Norway, all belonging to the same group of companies. Those defendants not domiciled in the Netherlands contest the jurisdiction of the Rechtbank.
In appeal, the Hof 's-Gravenhage (NL) considers that a European patent
is not a single patent but rather a bundle of national patents. Therefore, claims are not sufficiently connected for the application of Article 6 (1) Brussels and Lugano Conventions if, e.g., a Dutch company is summoned to stop infringing a Dutch patent in the Netherlands and a French company is summoned to infringe the corresponding French patent in France. The patents have a common history but they exist independent from each other. However, if members of a group of companies sell identical products in their respective national markets, this way of acting must be regarded as being based on a common strategy. In such a case, it is required that the cases be heard and determined together in order to reach a proper administration of justice. Article 6 (1) Brussels Convention offers the opportunity to do so. It does not, however, follow from this that the plaintiff may sue, at his choice, all the companies in the court of domicile of one of them. That would be contrary to the predictability of jurisdiction which is one of the aims of the conventions. Balancing the interests served by Articles 2 and 6 (1) Brussels Convention, the claim, against all companies at once, should only be brought in the court of the domicile of the head office that initiated or leaded the operation.