GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Clemens Tobias Steins, Michael Pfeifer, Daniel Grohs and Bianca-Lucia Vos, HOFFMANN EITLE
applications for biopharmaceuticals and drugs containing chemical compounds and examination and appeal proceedings before national courts and patent offices in Europe and countries outside the EU.
HOFFMANN EITLE Arabellastr. 30 81925 Munich Germany
Tel: +49 89 91 40 90 Fax: +49 89 91 83 56
Email: pm@hoffmanneitle.com Web: www.hoffmanneitle.com
1. Life Sciences and Pharma/ Biopharma Patent Litigation 1.1 Claimants/Plaintiffs to an Action Patent Infringement Actions
the rendering of accounts on behalf of the actual owners and the damages to be paid to them. Co-owners may generally request a cease-and-desist order and the recall and destruction of infringing prod ‑ ucts on their own, ie, without the involvement of the other co-owner(s), unless otherwise stated in their agreement. With respect to damages, a co-owner must request the rendering of accounts and payment to all co-owners. Exclusive licensees An exclusive licensee also has standing to sue with respect to all available claims of relief, provided the infringing product and activity are within the scope of the licence. It is not necessary to register the licence with the Persons other than proprietors and exclusive licen ‑ sees do not have standing to sue, but may be empow ‑ ered by a proprietor or exclusive licensee to assert certain claims. Claims for damages and unjust enrichment are gen ‑ erally assignable and may, therefore, be asserted by an assignee. GPTO. Others
Generally, only patent proprietors and exclusive licen ‑ sees have standing to sue for patent infringement. Nevertheless, others may also be granted the author ‑ ity to assert certain claims under specific conditions and limitations. Patent Proprietors A patent proprietor, including a co-owner, has standing to sue for patent infringement. In this regard, depend ‑ ing on the particular claim of relief being requested, it is the formal registration as proprietor which is deci ‑ sive, rather than the substantive ownership: • the claims of relief of cease-and-desist, recall and destruction of infringing products may only be asserted by the person registered as proprietor in the register of the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO); and • for the claims of damages and rendering of accounts, the person(s) registered in the GPTO patent register as proprietor is presumed to have been the proprietor(s) over the time of their regis ‑ tration, but the defendant may challenge this; if the challenge is successful, the plaintiff must request
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