HAMBURG LOCAL DIVISION Law and Practice Contributed by: Lukas Wosnitza, Michael Schneider, Sönke Scheltz and Désirée Heintz, Eisenführ Speiser
5. Economic Issues and Remedies 5.1 Case Value and Court Fees The amounts in dispute in most of the cases decided to date range between EUR500,000 and EUR3.75 million. Exceptions to this are the PI proceedings in Alexion v Amgen and Sam - sung Bioepis, where the court set the amount in dispute at EUR100 million in each case. 5.2 UPC Court Fees Compared to National Courts Court Fees Before the UPC The cost risk in first-instance proceedings before the UPC with an infringement action (value in dispute: EUR1 million) and a revocation coun - terclaim (value in dispute: EUR1.5 million) is as follows: • infringement action – EUR11,000 (flat fee) + EUR4,000 (additional fee) = EUR15,000; and • revocation counterclaim – EUR15,000 (same fee as for infringement action, because the fee is below EUR20,000), for a total of EUR30,000. Concerning recoverable costs for representa - tives, the value under dispute for both an infringement action and a revocation counter - claim (EUR2.5 million) allows recoverable fees of up to EUR400,000. Court Fees Before German Courts The cost risk in first-instance proceedings in German courts (value in dispute in an infringe - ment action, EUR1 million; and in a nullity action, EUR1.25 million) is as follows: • infringement action – EUR18,714; and • revocation action – EUR32,796, for a total of EUR51,510.
Concerning recoverable costs for representa - tives (one patent attorney and one lawyer), the cost risk is as follows: • infringement action – EUR27,550; and • revocation action – EUR31,925, for a total of EUR59,475. 5.3 Costs Awards The authors are not aware of any cost award granted by the LD HH so far. 5.4 Damages No response has been provided in this jurisdic - tion. 6. The Future of the UPC 6.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of the UPC Like all trial and appeal panels of the UPC, the LD HH ensures a high-quality and uniform deci - sion in both infringement and validity claims raised for a particular patent in suit, both with regard to the legal and technical aspects and within the consolidated timeframe set out by the RoP. The staffing of the LD HH has ensured a seamless transfer of expertise from the German national patent litigation courts, which are now joining forces with the technical and international members of the bench. Hamburg, as a global commercial hub, can also serve as a litigation gateway to the Northern European markets. 6.2 Future Trends Over the next two years, the authors foresee fur - ther consolidation of docket and case manage - ment practices between the different divisions of the court, maintaining a degree of “local flavour” (use of interim conferences, etc) – and all within the harmonised set of rules. The new case man -
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