Nahaufnahme eines buntschimmernden Siliziumwafers mit fein strukturierten mikroelektronischen Schaltungen und Leiterbahnen.

Foreign object collection and metrology device (Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court)

Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, judgment of March 6, 2025 – 2 U 29/24

Decision keyword:

Foreign body collection and metrology device

Law applied:

Utility Model Act (GebrMG) § 5 (1), § 11 (1), § 12a, § 13 (1), § 15 (1) No. 3

Summary: 

  1. In infringement proceedings, a utility model can be asserted and defended to the extent tailored to the proceedings and the contested embodiment (continuation of Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, judgment of July 5, 2024 – I-2 U 74/23, GRUR-RS 2024, 22326 para. 52 – Fondant).
  2. When interpreting the asserted protection claim, the question of whether the newly formulated protection claim may have been inadmissibly extended is irrelevant. A utility model claim may therefore not be interpreted in accordance with the original disclosure simply because its subject matter would otherwise be inadmissibly extended compared to the original documents.
  3. If the protection claim asserted by the utility model owner in the infringement dispute is not covered by the original disclosure in the application documents, the utility model owner cannot derive any rights from this in the infringement dispute (continuation of Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, GRUR-RR 2024, 61 para. 175 – Rollwagen).
  4. If the utility model in suit has been derived, the disclosure content of the parent application from which the utility model in suit was derived is decisive for the examination of the ground for cancellation of inadmissible extension.

Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, judgment of March 6, 2025 – 2 U 29/24 –

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