This is a summary of developments in and around the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in the week since our May 24, 2025 UPC Roundup.
1. CD Paris: UPC revokes patent in Germany, clarifies territorial scope and invalidity grounds (Aylo Premium v. DISH Technologies)
The Paris seat of the Central Division (CD) revoked the German part of EP3822805 (“Apparatus, system, and method for adaptive-rate shifting of streaming content”), held by DISH, following a challenge brought by Aylo. The ruling not only addresses substantive questions of patent law but also sets an important procedural precedent regarding the territorial reach of revocation actions before the UPC.
At the heart of the case was Aylo Premium’s targeted request to revoke the patent solely within Germany, rather than across all relevant UPC member states. The court held that such territorially limited revocation is permissible under the UPC framework, emphasizing that it is bound by the scope of relief requested by the claimant. Citing Articles 34 and 76(1) of the UPC Agreement (UPCA) and Rule 44(d) of the Rules of Procedure (RoP), the judges clarified that the principle of ne ultra petita (i.e., not awarding more than what is sought), applies even in revocation proceedings. The decision counters academic opinion that such limitations require compelling justification, reinforcing that strategic and economic considerations by parties can legitimately guide the territorial scope of their claims.
Beyond procedural clarity, the revocation was based on a substantive finding that the patent contained added matter not disclosed in the original application. Specifically, the judges took issue with a claim feature requiring the system to select the “highest quality” video stream deemed sustainable at a given time. According to the ruling, this wording introduced a concept not supported by the parent application, which only discussed shifting to the “next higher quality” stream.
DISH had attempted to defend the patent through multiple auxiliary claim sets, but none remedied the added matter issue. The Court also rejected a request to stay the UPC proceedings pending a decision from the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Opposition Division, citing the advanced stage of the case and the UPC’s overarching aim of procedural efficiency.
In section 10 of our previous UPC roundup, we already mentioned that the Munich I Regional Court did not find an infringement of this patent.
2. Mannheim LD issues first anti-antisuit injunction (InterDigital v. Disney)
In a landmark decision, the Mannheim Local Division (LD) has issued its first-ever anti-antisuit injunction (AASI) in the ongoing standard-essential patent (SEP) litigation between InterDigital and The Walt Disney Company. This move aims to prevent Disney from seeking court orders in other jurisdictions that could hinder InterDigital’s enforcement of its patents within the UPC framework.
The issuance of the AASI by the Mannheim LD underscores the UPC’s commitment to safeguarding its proceedings from external legal interferences, particularly those that could arise from antisuit injunctions (ASIs) sought in foreign courts. This is consistent with the UPC’s proactive stance in maintaining the integrity of its jurisdiction. The Munich LD has previously granted several AASIs.
3. Settlements
3.1 CD Munich pauses revocation proceedings in Kunststoff KG v. Häfele SE
The oral hearing initially scheduled for June 4, 2025 has been canceled. Either party may later request to resume the proceedings should negotiations fail.
3.2 MED-EL and Advanced Bionics settle
The dispute, which centered on advanced medical technology, was formally brought to an end after MED-EL applied to withdraw the case, with the defendants agreeing to the withdrawal.Â
4. Mannheim LD proactively raises Samsung-ZTE 5G dispute value from €0.5M to €4M
In the SEP dispute between Samsung Electronics and ZTE, the Mannheim LD has, of its own volition, set the preliminary value of the dispute at €4 million, up from €0.5 million (PDF). Citing the commercial significance of the technologies involved and the broader FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing context, the judge-rapporteur found the initially declared dispute value to be grossly underestimated. As a result, Samsung has been ordered to pay an additional €26,000 in advance court fees, beyond the €11,000 already provided.Â
5. New cases
5.1 The Hague LD: second Sol IP v. BYD case
SEP assertions against Chinese automaker BYD are escalating in Europe with a second UPC lawsuit.
5.2 Other infringement actions
- Pulse Lavage v. CooperSurgical (Dusseldorf LD)
- HORL 1993 v. Magna-Tec (Munich LD)
5.3 Revocation action
- Veolia Propreté v. TIRU (CD Paris)
6. Recent and upcoming hearings
6.1 Recent hearings
There were no hearings this week, presumably due to a long weekend in many countries.
6.2 Upcoming hearings
- Tuesday, June 3, 2025:
- Maguin v. Tiru and Valinea Energie v. Tiru (CoA; Rule 220.1(c) RoP appeals)
- Manuela Hofmann v. Essetre Holding (CD Paris; revocation)
- Wednesday, June 4, 2025:
- Sibio v. Abbott (CD Paris; revocation)
- Maschio Gaspardo v. Spiridonakis (CD Milan)
- Thursday, June 5, 2025:
- Philips v. Belkin and vice versa (CoA; Rule 220.1 RoP appeals)
- Progress Maschinen & Automation v. AWM & Schnell (Milan LD)
- Wednesday, June 11, 2025:
- Sumi Agro v. Syngenta (CoA; Rule 220.2 RoP appeal)
- Oerlikon Textile v. Himson Engineering (Milan LD)
- Thursday, June 12, 2025:
- Roche Diabetes Care v. Tandem Diabetes Care & VitalAire (Hamburg LD)
- Monday, June 16, 2025:
- NJOY v. Juul Labs (CoA; Rule 220.1(a) RoP appeal)
- Tuesday, June 17, 2025:
- Headwater Research v. Samsung Electronics (Dusseldorf LD)
- Suinno Mobile & AI Technologies Licensing Oy v. Microsoft Corporation and vice-versa (CoA)
- Wednesday, June 18, 2025:
- Qualcomm v. Network Systems Technologies (CoA; cross-appeals Rule 327 RoP)
- Winnow Solutions v. Orbisk (The Hague LD)
- Friday, June 20, 2025:
- N.J. Diffusion v. Gisela Mayer (Paris LD)
7. Around the court
Starting May 26, 2025 IT developers can access a dedicated sandbox environment to test batch opt-outs via APIs, formerly known as API A2A under the UPC’s new Case Management System (CMS). Developers interested in preparing for the CMS API launch are encouraged to register by submitting a GLPI form under the inquiry type “New CMS Testers.” The sandbox is a shared test space, and any opt-outs conducted there will not impact live production data. Final implementation guides for the opt-out APIs will be provided ahead of the official go-live.