Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH v BOS GmbH & Co. KG [2022] EWHC 1642 (Pat)
This was an application for expedition of a hearing which would address an application for expedition of a STS trial in the Patents Court.
The Defendant’s patent, EP(UK) 3,266,631 (the “Patent”), concerns sun blinds for vehicles. Each of the parties are incorporated in Germany, manufacture their respective products in Germany and supply them to German car manufacturers.
The Defendant commenced proceedings against the Claimant for infringement in Germany in August 2021. At that time, the Defendant had allowed the Patent to lapse in the UK by non-payment of the renewal fee. In November 2021, the Claimant paid the renewal fee on the Patent and, shortly after, commended these proceedings for a declaration of non-infringement.
In June 2022, the Claimant applied for expedition of the trial and an expedited hearing of that application to be heard alongside two pre-existing applications by the Defendant which been listed for October 2022. The Claimant applied for the combined hearing to be heard before the end of July 2022.
Mellor J refused the Claimant’s application. The Claimant’s ultimate aim was to obtain an expedited trial and decision in the UK before the German infringement trial in December 2022. The ‘spin off’ value of a UK judgment was not enough on its own to justify expedition where validity was in issue. That factor was even less powerful here where validity was not in issue and there was no injunction gap in Germany. Mellor J held that the Claimant had not shown any reason, let alone a good reason, to justify expedition of the trial. It followed that there was no reason to expedite the hearing of that application.
Mitchell Beebe appeared for the Defendant, instructed by Powell Gilbert