Cross-border Injunctions in Patent Litigations Following the ECJ Decision in GAT v. LuK – Life after Death?

In the absence of a Community patent, patents in Europe are national rights. This is even true with regard to the European patent which, after grant by the European Patent Office, splits up into a bundle of national patents.

National patents have to be enforced before national courts. With no currently existing European patent litigation system the situation is not different for the national parts of a European patent. As long as the infringing acts take place only in one European state, the patent holder will bring his or her action before a court of that state. But what possibilities exist when infringing acts occur in more than one state? Of course, the patent holder can sue for each patent infringement on a state-to-state basis. But would it not be more attractive to refer all parallel infringement actions to one single court? The advantages of such cross-border litigation are obvious. The legal costs would be less. The patent holder could choose the speediest and most experienced court. In addition, contradictory decisions would be avoided.