France: Intellectual Property

In the latest round of the Merz v Viatris dispute over the alleged infringement of Merz’s MS drug dosing regime patent (drug brand name Fampyra), the UPC Paris Local Division...

A recent order from the Paris Central Division of the Unified Patent Court establishes that parties may file UPC actions before the grant of underlying European patents, creating new strategic considerations for patent proprietors considering opt-outs. The decision in Omnia Technologies v Sidel Participations demonstrates how timing of opt-out requests has become critical, as the court found jurisdiction even when patents were not yet granted at the time of filing.

A Paris division of the Unified Patent Court granted a moderate €100,000 top-up to security for legal costs in a patent infringement case, balancing the defendant's increased defense expenses against the claimant's fundamental right to access justice. The court rejected demands for a much larger security increase, finding that the claimant's status as a micro-enterprise required careful consideration of proportionality principles under EU law.