2026-01-28 - LD Düsseldorf - Labrador Diagnostics v. bioMerieux - UPC_CFI_315/2024
- Aktenzeichen:
- UPC_CFI_315/2024
- Datum:
- Spruchkörper:
- Court of First Instance - Düsseldorf (DE) Local Division
- Art:
- Decision
- Parteien:
- Labrador Diagnostics LLC v. bioMérieux SA. a. o.
Kernaussage: 1.
2026-01-28 - LD Düsseldorf - Labrador Diagnostics
v.
bioMerieux - UPC_CFI_315/2024
1. The Local Division is bound to the new wording of the claims due to the amendment of the patent in suit by a decision of the Central Division in a bifurcated case.
2. In a bifurcated case in which the Court does not find on infringement, the question of validity is no longer decisive for the infringement action
notable
The Düsseldorf LD dismissed an infringement action against bioMérieux's VIDAS 3 diagnostic instrument after the CD Milan had amended the patent claims in parallel revocation proceedings. The court held it was bound to the amended claim wording, which made the sample unit a constructive element of the 'device.' On claim construction, the court held that a 'device' requires sub-components to be spatially linked — not monolithic, but more than a conceptual/functional connection. The VIDAS 3's reagent strip (AU) and sample vial (PAU) were spatially separated with no structural connection forming a device. The court also held that where no infringement is found in a bifurcated case, validity questions become moot.
Stichwörter
Bifurcation; Central Division; amended claims