UPC CoA 354/2024

Court of Appeal order on Apple's appeal against refusal to change the language of proceedings from German to English in infringement proceedings brought by Ona Patents against Apple before the Düsseldorf Local Division. The Court of Appeal clarified that internal working language of parties and their ability to coordinate on technical issues are relevant factors when deciding a language change request on grounds of fairness (Art. 49(5) UPCA). Parallel national court proceedings between the parties are of less relevance to this analysis.

The Court of Appeal Panel 2 issued a procedural order summoning parties to an oral hearing by video conference (23 August 2024) in the appeal by Apple entities against the Düsseldorf Local Division's refusal to change the language of proceedings to the patent grant language in the Ona Patents infringement action concerning EP 2 263 098. The order also addressed Apple's application for further written pleadings (R. 9 RoP) and Ona Patents' request to disregard that reply (R. 36 RoP).

Court of Appeal (11 July 2024) dismissed Apple's application to accelerate the appeal proceedings and shorten the time limit for Ona Patents to file its response. The CoA held that Apple's interest in acceleration did not outweigh Ona's interest in proper proceedings and a fair time limit.