Facts
The decision concerns a dispute between A. Corporation and B. Ltd. The Federal Court was seized of a civil law appeal against a decision of the Federal Patent Court. The issue in dispute concerned the notification of a court decision to a party having its domicile or seat abroad.
The plaintiff, A. Corporation, had designated an agent in Switzerland, company C. AG, which was registered in the patent register. The plaintiff argued that this registration constituted representation within the meaning of Article 137 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) and that, consequently, notifications had to be made to this address.
The Federal Court examined the applicable provisions, in particular Articles 136, 137, 140 and 141 of the CPC, as well as Article 13 of the Patents Act (PatA) and Article 109 of the Private International Law Act (PILA).
Considerations
The Federal Court considered that the registration of an agent in the patent register did not constitute representation within the meaning of Article 137 of the CPC. Indeed, representation within the meaning of this provision assumes a closer relationship of representation than mere registration in the register.
The Court also examined the question of whether the address of the agent registered in the patent register could be considered as a notification domicile within the meaning of Articles 140 and 141 of the CPC. The Court considered that this was not the case, as registration in the patent register is not sufficient to establish a…