CJEU Decision C-339/22 on Jurisdiction on Patent Infringement and Invalidity

On 25 February 2025, the Grand Chamber of the CJEU handed down a decision on the interpretation of the Brussels Ibis Regulation on the jurisdiction of Courts in Europe on patent litigation and validity of a European Patent in another country.

The case, C-339/22 BSH Hausgeräte v Electrolux AB, was referred by a national Swedish Court in a litigation wherein the patentee alleged infringement for the Swedish and Turkish part of a European Patent whereas the defendant, who is located in Sweden and therefore jurisdiction is established by the domicile of defendant, raised invalidity of the patents.

The CJEU now has clarified the question of jurisdiction, confirming that a Court being subject to the Brussels Regulation, can have jurisdiction on patent infringement by way of domicile of the defendant, on another national part of a European Patent, even if the defendant raises invalidity reasons, whereas a legally binding validity decision can exclusively been issued only by a court in the country where the respective part of the European patent is registered.

The CJEU indicates that a similar approach has to be followed in respect of parts of European Patents that are outside the applicability of the Brussels Regulation (or by analogy the Lugano Convention).

The text of the decision can be found here: CURIA - Documents.