STOCKHOLM REGIONAL DIVISION Law and Practice Contributed by: Peter Kenamets, Fredrik Lüning and Linnéa Hedström, Lind Edlund Kenamets Intellectual Property AB
5. Economic Issues and Remedies 5.1 Case Value and Court Fees The cases currently available before the NBRD reveal that parties have taken widely differing approaches when it comes to the valuation of disputes. In infringement actions, the amounts in dispute have ranged from EUR0.5 million to EUR15 mil - lion, with an average value of just under EUR5 million and a median value of EUR3 million. For counterclaims for revocation, the corre - sponding figures span from EUR1 million to EUR15 million. In the context of applications for provisional measures and preservation of evidence, the values assigned to the matters have been EUR800,000 and EUR249,000 respectively. 5.2 UPC Court Fees Compared to National Courts Since 2016, Sweden has maintained two spe - cialist courts for patent and other intellectual property disputes. These are the Patent and Market Court and the Patent and Market Court of Appeal. Both courts have national jurisdiction over all patent disputes arising anywhere in the country. They are dedicated IP courts with a spe - cialised composition, consisting of both legally qualified judges and technical experts, all with substantial experience in patent matters. In addition to their national jurisdiction, the courts also exercise international jurisdiction over cross-border patent disputes, in accord - ance with the provisions of the Brussels I Recast Regulation and other applicable rules on interna - tional jurisdiction. This has been clearly affirmed in the CJEU’s recent decision in C-339/22 BSH
Hausgeräte, where the underlying national dis - pute was pending before the Swedish IP courts. The same applies to C-399/21 IRnova, also con - cerned with international jurisdiction in patent disputes, and which likewise stemmed from pro - ceedings before the Swedish IP courts. The Swedish court system differs from the UPC in one particularly important respect: it is not fee-based but government-funded. As a result, court fees are virtually negligible. For example, the filing fee for a patent infringement action in Sweden is less than EUR300. This stands in stark contrast to the fees applica - ble before the UPC, which can reach substantial levels – often in the hundreds of thousands of euros. This makes the Swedish IP court a very cost- effective option, particularly for small and medi - um-sized enterprises or individual inventors. The UPC, by contrast, carries significantly higher financial barriers to entry. 5.3 Costs Awards Costs Decisions Before the NBRD To date, the NBRD has issued a costs decision in one case. In that matter, the patent holder had filed an application for preservation of evidence (saisie) and inspection of property under Article 60 of the UPCA. After the two defendants had submitted detailed objections to the application, the patent holder withdrew the request. The parties were in agreement that the value of the proceedings was below EUR250,000. Refer - ring to the Administrative Committee’s decision of 24 April 2023, the NBRD noted that the appli - cable cost cap in such cases was EUR38,000 and that, pursuant to Article 1 of the decision,
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