Enforcement Directive does not apply to invalidity proceedings

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Enforcement Directive does not apply to invalidity proceedings

The EU Enforcement Directive does not apply to invalidation proceedings concerning utility models, according to the Court of Justice of the EU

Ruling today in a case referred from Hungary between Bericap Záródástechnikai and Plastinnova 2000, the Court said that the provisions in the 2004 Enforcement Directive do not preclude that, in invalidity proceedings, the relevant court:

is not bound by the claims and other statements made by the parties and is entitled to order of its own motion the production of any evidence that it may deem necessary; is not bound by an administrative decision made in relation to an application for invalidation or by the findings of fact in that decision, and is not entitled to re-examine evidence which was already submitted in connection with a previous application for invalidation.
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