CJEU Releases Groundbreaking Ruling On EU Cross-Border Patent Litigation

BSH V ELECTROLUX (C-339/22)

In a decision which has sent shockwaves across the European patent community, the CJEU has this week expanded upon the cross-border long-arm jurisdiction of the Courts of EU Member States.

In brief, the CJEU has confirmed that:

• a Court in an EU Member State where a defendant is domiciled has jurisdiction to hear infringement claims, and grant cross-border injunctions, in respect of foreign patents (both those granted in EU and non-EU territories) - even where the defendant has, in defence, challenged the patent's validity.
• however, national EU Courts retain exclusive jurisdiction over invalidity of patents granted in their jurisdiction, such that if an invalidity counterclaim is brought before the Court hearing the infringement claim, it must decline to make a finding on the validity of the same patent. Instead, the defendant must bring separate revocation proceedings in the country in which the patent is granted. In this