Key takeaways
Filing a declaration of non-infringement before patent grant raises a question of admissibility, not of UPC competence, under Art. 32(1)(b) UPCA
– Competence pursuant to Art. 32(1)(b) UPCA depends on the claimant’s actual intent in its statement of claim. Because the claimants sought a declaration of non-infringement against granted patents, the action falls within the court’s competence, while premature filing prior to the grant of a patent is an issue of claim admissibility.
– Whether a declaration for non-infringement action was filed prematurely (i.e., before grant of a patent) is a separate admissibility question that falls outside the exhaustive list of objections available under R. 19 RoP.
An opt-out filed after a declaration of non-infringement action has already been lodged is ineffective under Art. 83(3) UPCA
– The term “action” in Art. 83 UPCA covers all actions listed in Art. 32 UPCA, not merely infringement or revocation actions.
– A defendant’s opt-out application filed after such action was lodged therefore has no effect.
The Court of First Instance loses power to grant leave to appeal, even retroactively, once the 15-day period under R. 220.3 RoP lapses without a decision
– Where the Court of First Instance fails to decide on a timely leave to appeal request within 15 days, leave is deemed refused.
– A subsequent request for discretionary review must then be filed within the following 15-day period under R. 220.3 RoP.
A statement of appeal filed within the discretionary review deadline may, in exceptional circumstances, be reinterpreted as a request for discretionary review under R. 220.3 RoP
– The Court of Appeal left open whether genuine legal uncertainty created by evolving case law, combined with a diligent filing and an unconditional (albeit late) granted leave to appeal by the Court of First Instance, could justify such reinterpretation, since the appeal was unfounded regardless.
Division
Court of Appeal
UPC number
UPC_CoA_90/2026
Type of proceedings
Appeal against an order rejecting a preliminary objection
Parties
Appellant / Defendant: Sidel Participations SAS
Respondents / Claimants: Omnia Technologies S.p.A., ACMI Labelling S.r.l., ACMI S.p.A.
Patent(s)
EP 4 594 194, EP 4 624 351
Jurisdictions
UPC
Body of legislation / Rules
Art. 32(1)(b), Art. 83(1), (3) UPCA, Rule 19, 61, 63, 220.2, 220.3, 300(a) RoP
