1. Key takeaways

No stay of proceedings if party was declared insolvent after the oral hearing had concluded and the legal dispute was ready for a decision, R. 311.1 RoP, Art. 41 (3) UPCA

A court shall stay the proceedings if a party is declared insolvent, R.311.1. However, the Rules must be interpreted in accordance with Art. 41(3) UPCA (conducting proceedings in the most efficient and cost effective manner; fair balance between legitimate interests of all parties; required level of discretion for judges without impairing the predictability of proceedings for the parties).

It would not be compatible with the principles of procedural economy and cost efficiency if the proceedings had to be stayed even in a case in which a party was only declared insolvent after the oral hearing had concluded and the legal dispute was ready for a decision. At this stage of the proceedings, the parties have already taken all procedural steps and all costs have already been incurred by the parties. If the decision or order has an effect on the insolvency estate, it does not differ from the effect that a decision or order issued before the declaration of insolvency would have had.

Furthermore, the interest in a timely order weighs particularly heavily in proceedings aimed at provisional legal protection. Furthermore, it leads to a fair balance between the legitimate interests of the parties if events that only occurred after the conclusion of the oral hearing are also no longer to be considered in the decision-making process.

This result is in line with French, German, Italian and Dutch law.

2. Division

CoA Luxembourg

3. UPC number

UPC_CoA_3352023

4. Type of proceedings

Application to stay/proceedings for granting provisional measures

5. Parties

Applicants: 10x Genomics Inc.; President and Fellows of Harvard College

Defendant: NanoString Technologies Inc.; NanoString Technologies Germany GmbH; NanoString Technologies Netherlands B.V.

6. Patent(s)

EP 4 108 782

7. Body of legislation / Rules

R. 311.1 RoP; Art. 41(3) UPCA

To view the full article, click here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.