Law applied:
Art. II § 6 (1) IntPatÜG
Art. 138 (1) (a), Art. 54, 56 EPC
§ 138 (4) Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO)
Summary (Machine translation):
In the context of prior use, Section 138 (4) of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) allows a party to declare that it has no knowledge of facts that were neither the party's own actions nor the subject of its own perception. A legal person's own actions or perceptions within the meaning of Section 138 (4) Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) are deemed to be equivalent to events within its own area of business and responsibility. A declaration of ignorance is only admissible if the party has fulfilled its existing duty to obtain information (see Federal Supreme Court MMR 2019, 617 para. 19). The duty to provide information also applies to former employees (see Federal Supreme Court GRUR 2002, 190 - DIE PROFIS). A party's reference that the employee in question has since left the group does not satisfy these requirements. The party must also submit that an attempt has been made to contact the former employee, or that such an attempt has failed or that a search has been made for relevant documents.
Federal Patent Court (BPatG), judgment of April 3, 2025 – 7 Ni 13/22 (EP)
Download Judgment (machine translation)
Header: benjaminnolte_AdobeStock.com