UPC Dusseldorf grants surgical tool maker patent injunction, includes UK

Context: Aesculap, a German surgical instrument maker, first sued Shanghai International Holding Corporation, the Hamburg-based EU authorized representative for Chinese manufacturer Shanghai Bojin Medical Instrument, in mid-2025. The UPC’s Dusseldorf Local Division (LD) had granted a preliminary injunction (PI) against Shanghai International even though it neither makes nor was shown to sell the accused surgical drill bits, reasoning that its role as the product’s EU authorized representative made it liable as an intermediary (July 15, 2025 ip fray article). The question of whether an intermediary can be subjected to an injunction in patent proceedings is also before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a pending referral from the UPC Court of Appeal (CoA) in an unrelated case involving Dyson and a Chinese hair care appliance maker (March 6, 2026 ip fray article). The referral asks, more narrowly, whether EU law precludes an interim injunction against a third party in circumstances involving the marketing of products covered by the EU Product Safety Regulation, and is framed around the Product Safety Regulation and Market Surveillance Regulation.