Facts
The appeal of Company A AG against the partial judgment of the Federal Patent Court was upheld by the Federal Supreme Court. The Federal Supreme Court set aside the judgment and remanded the case to the lower court for a new assessment.
The case concerns a patent dispute between Company B AG as the patent holder and Company A AG as the defendant. Company B AG had sued Company A AG for patent infringement. This led to a complex exchange of written submissions, in which the parties introduced new facts and evidence (new facts and evidence, "Noven").
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the lower court had violated the parties' right to submit new facts and evidence, by allowing the opposing party (Company B AG) to comment on the validity of the patent three times without restriction. According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, the parties in ordinary proceedings only have the opportunity to comment on the merits of the case and submit new facts and evidence twice without restriction.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court stated that a thematic division of the exchange of written submissions, as carried out by the lower court, is not permissible. This allowed the opposing party to comment on the issue of patent validity three times without restriction, which violates the case law of the Federal Supreme Court.
However, the Federal Supreme Court left open whether a procedural…