Richard Meade QCacted for the successful claimant in Actavis Group HF v Eli Lilly & Co [2012] EWHC 3316 (Pat). This is an important decision which recognises that English courts have jurisdiction to hear claims for infringement of multiple foreign designations of a European patent.
The defendant applied to strike out or stay the action for lack of jurisdiction or forum non conveniens. Mr Justice Arnold held that the defendant had validly consented to service of the claimant’s claim for declarations of non-infringement.
Validity was not disputed and the Brussels I Regulation did not apply to the defendant, which was an American company. Moreover, the Court had jurisdiction to hear the claim with respect to both the United Kingdom and the French, German, Italian and Spanish designations of the defendant’s patent in the same action. The Court accepted that there was no more appropriate forum to hear the claim.