FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Rainer Hilli, Mikael Segercrantz, Johanna Lilja and Johanna Flythström, Roschier
5.4 Other Court Proceedings Generally, the court tries to handle an action without stays. Thus, parallel revocation/infringe- ment proceedings in other jurisdictions do not usually affect the proceedings before the Market Court. Should both parties request a stay, the court will likely accept this. There is no case law on anti-suit injunctions in Finland.
rather flexible. The typical timeline for proceed- ings is that, when the application for summons has been filed and served at the defendant, the defendant must respond in writing within 30 to 45 days. Following that, there is a schedul- ing hearing, whereafter the applicant usually files a second written brief, and the defendant responds to that in writing. The parties usually get one to two months for their written submissions. Thereafter, there is a preparatory hearing during which evidence and (expert) witnesses are discussed, and the dates for the main hearing are confirmed. The main oral hearing takes one to three weeks, and com- prises: • an opening presentation; • presentation of written evidence; and • examination and cross-examination of expert witnesses and witnesses of fact. At the end of the main hearing, the parties pre- sent their closing statements. The judgment is usually announced three to six months after the main hearing. In total, the proceedings take 16 to 20 months. 5.2 Decision-Makers The panel of the Market Court consists of three legal judges and one technical judge. The Court may also appoint an additional technical judge familiar with the relevant field of the patent-in- suit. 5.3 Settling the Case The case can be settled at any time before the judgment is announced. The judge regularly asks the parties if there is the possibility for a settle- ment, but there is no further formal process.
6. Remedies 6.1 Remedies for the Patentee
In interim injunction proceedings, the applicant can request that a conditional fine be set should the defendant breach the interim injunction. Such fine is enforced by the bailiff’s office and is paid to the government, not to the applicant. Where the infringement has caused damag- es, the defendant is liable to compensate the claimant for such damages. The claimant has the burden of proving the causality between the infringement and the damages, and the amount of the damages. There are no punitive damages. If the court finds that the infringement was not negligent, the amount of the damages may be mitigated. The losing party is also liable to com- pensate the legal costs of the winning party. 6.2 Rights of Prevailing Defendants A prevailing defendant can claim compensation of its legal fees. 6.3 Types of Remedies This is not applicable. 6.4 Injunctions Pending Appeal An injunction is generally enforceable pending appeal. The Supreme Court can prohibit the enforcement of an appeal.
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