Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

[JURE SUMMARY](#SM)

## JURE SUMMARY

The German plaintiff is the holder of a European patent which is effective, inter alia, in Germany and France. The French defendant produced pregnancy test instruments in France. It presented its instruments at a trade fair in Düsseldorf. According to the plaintiff, the defendant’s pregnancy tests used the technological innovations covered by the plaintiff's patent. Thus, the plaintiff commenced an action for patent infringement against the defendant before a German court seeking an injunction, account rendering, compensation and damages.
The Oberlandesgericht of (DE) holds that pursuant to Article 5(3) Brussels Convention, the German courts have international jurisdiction. The European Patent consists of a bundle of patents, each being limited to the territory of one State. The place where the harmful event occurred and where the resulting damage occurred in terms of Article 5(3) is located in the Contracting State where the respective part of the intellectual property right is situated. The international jurisdiction of the German courts over the claims can also be based on Article 18 Brussels Convention. The defendant entered an appearance before the Court of First Instance without contesting its international jurisdiction. Furthermore, there is no ground for a stay of the proceedings according to Article 21(1) Brussels Convention. There are proceedings pending earlier between the same parties before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Rennes (FR) regarding the French part of the patent in dispute. However, due to the territorial limitation of the respective IP right, the subject matter in those proceedings is a different one. A stay according to Article 22(1) Brussels Convention can neither be considered. This applies at any rate where the German proceedings have significantly advanced, due to the timely limitation of patent protection. A denial of jurisdiction on the ground of Article 22(2) has to be dismissed for legal reasons.

[Top](#document1)