2025-11-11 - CoA - Anonymisiert (vertr. Björn SOMMER) et al. - UPC_CoA_393/2024

Was ist diese UPC-Entscheidung?

Zusammenfassung: A German Patentanwalt (Patentassessor since 1998) asked the UPC Registrar to enter him on the list of representatives under Art. 48(2) UPCA, relying on his EPO list entry plus an asserted equivalence between the 1997-98 'Munich Year' training he completed and the FernUniversität Hagen 'Law for Patent Attorneys' course listed in Rule 12.1(a)(ii) EPLC Rules. The Registrar rejected the application (4 June 2024) and denied relief (23 July 2024), holding the Rule 12.1(a) catalogue exhaustive. The President of the Court of Appeal (Grabinski), sitting alone in the petition-for-review procedure, dismissed the petition. Two foundations: Art. 48(2) UPCA requires both Art. 134 EPC authority AND a UPC-specific litigation qualification (EPLC or equivalent under EPLC Rules); R.286.2 RoP requires certificates for both. The EPLC Rules (22 Feb 2022) exhaustively set out the qualifications. R.12.1(a) EPLC's catalogue is closed; Rule 14.2 requires a certificate/diploma of a catalogue qualification. The Registrar's role is limited to checking whether a catalogue qualification is proved — the Registrar has no authority to assess equivalence of other courses. Proof of the FernUniversität Hagen course or Kandidatenkurs Fischbachau was not produced. The 'Munich Year' evidence (1998 BMJ explanatory memorandum; DPMA letter of 14 March 2024) shows curricular change over time but does not establish identity of curriculum and pass requirements with the Hagen course. A pure title-only difference case was expressly left undecided. EU-law/fundamental-rights challenges were rejected: any interference with Art. 15 Charter/Art. 56 ff. TFEU is justified by the qualified-representation objective and the Administrative Committee's competence under Art. 12 UPCA to regulate the detail. No equality breach. No oral hearing required under the EPLC Rules. The applicant may still qualify via the EPLC or Rule 11 EPLC Rules.

Quelle und Fundstellen

Quelle: UPC Case File

Aktenzeichen: UPC_CoA_393/2024