UPC Unfiltered, by Willem Hoyng – UPC Decisions Week 38, 2026

In 'UPC Unfiltered' for week 38 of 2026, published September 21, Willem Hoyng of Hoyng Rokh Monegier reviews the latest Unified Patent Court decisions, with several turning on court fees and costs. In Dainese v Motocard (Court of Appeal, late-published September 10), the judge-rapporteur analyzed the Rules of Procedure and concluded that an appeal is inadmissible if the appellant does not pay the court fees within 14 days of the Registry's reminder; because the appellant's bank transfer of June 30 fell within that 14-day window, the request to declare the appeal manifestly inadmissible was dismissed. Hoyng draws the practical lesson: pay court fees in time, at the latest within 14 days of the Registry's reminder.

Fee refunds on settlement were another theme. In Ericsson v Verifone (Mannheim, September 14), three SEP cases settled; the judge-rapporteur increased the value of the litigation in view of FRAND-specific claims — which Hoyng agrees raise the economic value of proceedings because they de facto relate to the worldwide value of using a standard — and, after ordering an extra fee payment, awarded only a 40% return of court fees instead of the usual 50%, citing the work the court had already done. In Ericsson v Transsion (Central Division Paris, the same day), the court accepted withdrawals but awarded only a 35% reimbursement given the exceptional nature of the case. Hoyng questions why refund practice diverges between divisions, suggesting a standard 25% for such labor-intensive SEP matters instead of 50%.

In AMMS v Gilead (Court of Appeal, September 18), the judge-rapporteur held that, under Article 74 UPCA, an appeal generally has no suspensive effect except for decisions in revocation proceedings — and that this exception does not extend to cost proceedings, which are independent. Gilead had won revocation of EP 3 854 403 in Milan with agreed costs of 800,000 euros, and AMMS's bid to stay the cost order pending appeal failed. Hoyng's advice to representatives: warn clients that an appeal does not suspend enforcement, and agree on instalment payments upfront if a lump sum would be impossible.

Beyond fees, the week saw the Munich Local Division find DivX's progressive media playback patent valid and indirectly infringed by Netflix — prompting Hoyng to criticize 'submarine patents' kept hidden in lengthy applications — and the Munich division grant Oxford Nanopore a preliminary injunction against MGI's nanopore sequencing products, splitting the case against the served German defendant from three Chinese defendants whose service had not been completed. The Court of Appeal in Heraeus v Vibrantz confirmed that where a national decision is res judicata, the UPC must recognize it with no discretion, meaning parties get only one bite at the invalidity apple.

Original Link: https://www.hoyngrokhmonegier.com/news-insights/detail/upc-unfiltered-by-willem-hoyng-upc-decisions-week-38-2026