Annex to the Decision of the Administrative Committee of 24 April 2023 (D-AC/10/24042023, in force 25 April 2023). The ceiling caps the representation costs that a successful party may recover from an unsuccessful party under Article 69(1) UPCA and Rule 152.2 RoP. Decision text below the table.
| Value of the proceeding | Ceiling for recoverable costs |
|---|---|
| Up to and including 250,000 € | Up to 38,000 € |
| Up to and including 500,000 € | Up to 56,000 € |
| Up to and including 1,000,000 € | Up to 112,000 € |
| Up to and including 2,000,000 € | Up to 200,000 € |
| Up to and including 4,000,000 € | Up to 400,000 € |
| Up to and including 8,000,000 € | Up to 600,000 € |
| Up to and including 16,000,000 € | Up to 800,000 € |
| Up to and including 30,000,000 € | Up to 1,200,000 € |
| Up to and including 50,000,000 € | Up to 1,500,000 € |
| More than 50,000,000 € | Up to 2,000,000 € |
Decision of the Administrative Committee of 24 April 2023 on the Scale of Recoverable Cost Ceilings
Article 1
- The scale of ceilings for recoverable costs shall be set forth in the Annex.
- The ceilings of recoverable costs shall apply to representation costs.
- The ceiling shall be applied to each instance of the Court proceedings regardless of the number of parties, claims or patents concerned.
- In case of partial success, the ceiling applicable in the case shall correspond to the proportion of success of the party seeking cost recovery.
Article 2
- In limited situations, such as the particular complexity of the case or multiple languages used in the proceeding, the Court may upon request by one party, having regard to the financial capability of all the parties in the light of the principle of fair access to justice, raise the ceiling laid down in the Annex:
- a) by up to 50% of the applicable level in the scale corresponding to a value of the proceeding up to and including 1,000,000 €;
- b) by up to 25% of the applicable level in the scale corresponding to a value of the proceeding of more than 1,000,000 € and up to and including 50,000,000 €;
- c) up to 5,000,000 € in cases with a value of the proceeding of more than 50,000,000 €.
- Upon request of one of the parties, the Court may lower the ceiling applicable with regard to that party if, in the event that the requesting party is unsuccessful, the amount of recoverable costs of representation to be awarded to the successful party would threaten the economic existence of the requesting party, in particular if the latter is an SME, non-profit organisation, university, public research organisation or natural person.
- When deciding upon a request to lower the ceiling, the Court shall take into consideration the circumstances of the case and all available information on the parties, including, where possible, the procedural behaviour of the parties, the applicable level of the ceiling for recoverable costs in comparison with the annual turnover of both parties, the type of economic activity of both parties, as well as the impact the lowering of the ceiling would have on the other party.
- A request to raise or lower the ceiling shall be made as soon as possible and practicable in the proceeding. This may be with the Statement of claim by the plaintiff, or with the Statement of defence by the defendant but shall be lodged in sufficient time to enable the Court to make a decision before closure of the interim procedure. The request shall include all reasonably available evidence.
- The request to raise or lower the ceiling shall be dealt with by the Court without delay after having heard the parties and at the latest before closure of the interim procedure.
Article 3
The Administrative Committee shall review this Decision within two years after the entry into force of the Agreement, and thereafter every three years.
Article 4
This Decision shall enter into force on 25 April 2023.
*Done on 24 April 2023 (online meeting). For the Administrative Committee — Johannes Karcher, Chairperson.*