UPC CFI 702/2024

Amended claims 1 and 6 of unitary patent UP 4 153 830 are valid (novelty and inventive step confirmed)

Hinweis: Paris Local Division rejected Mul-T-Lock's invalidity challenge to the amended claims, confirming the patent's validity; the court held the skilled person is merely an executor and that non-publicly-accessible documents do not form common general knowledge.

MVP 1000 padlock manufactured and marketed by Mul-T-Lock infringes amended claims 1 and 6

Hinweis: Court found infringement of the amended unitary patent's claims 1 and 6 since 1 November 2023 (the unitary patent's grant date).

Amended unitary patent takes effect from the original grant date of the European patent

Hinweis: Court confirmed that an unconditionally amended European patent that became unitary takes effect from the original grant date, not the amendment date.

Counterclaim for nullity of claims 1 and 6 of the amended patent and subsidiary requests

Begründung: Dismissed in full; non-publicly-accessible documents cannot form common general knowledge; the skilled person has no creative latitude beyond executing what the art teaches.

Infringement of the Swiss national part of the patent should also be found

Begründung: Switzerland is not a UPCA member state; infringement of the national Swiss part must be assessed against the patent as originally granted, and there was a non-negligible risk of annulment by Swiss courts after the unconditional amendment; the court rejected that claim entirely.

Decision should be disseminated to Mul-T-Lock's customers

Begründung: Request for publication of the decision to customers was rejected.