IP-Update - BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT

Scales of justice representing the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and current developments in European patent litigation

G 1/25 – More legal certainty or a change to the worse?

8. September 2026IP-Update

In G 1/25, the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal has ruled on the extent of description adaptation following claim amendments, establishing a “conditional middle position” – with legal and practical risks for the practitioner. Applicants are required to “adapt” the description to the amended…

Dr. Michael Rüberg, attorney at law at BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT in Munich with a focus on patent litigation, standing in his office.

New FRAND Guidelines of the 7th Civil Chamber of the Munich I Regional Court: More Structure, More Economics, No Safe Harbor

28. August 2026IP-Update

The Munich patent chamber that decides the bulk of German SEP cases has set out, over 67 pages, how it assesses FRAND. Anyone pleading in Munich now knows which figures the chamber expects and which lines of defense it will not accept. Background The 7th Civil Chamber of the Munich I Regional Court,…

Photo of Simon Lee, Patent Attorney at BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT in Munich

New referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal: G 1/26 on claim interpretation

11. June 2026IP-Update

Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.05 of the European Patent Office has referred a fundamental question of claim interpretation to the Enlarged Board of Appeal. The referral, pending as G 1/26 ("Coated steel strips"), concerns the role the description plays when assessing added subject-matter. G 1/26:…

Portrait of Stella Euchner, Attorney at Law at BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT

The German Distance Learning Protection Act (FernUSG): Current Case Law and Practical Impacts

24. March 2026IP-Update

The German State Central Office for Distance Learning (ZFU) is also of central importance for modern online formats and B2B offerings. In its ruling of June 12, 2025 (III ZR 109/24), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) significantly expanded the scope of the German Distance Learning Protection Act (FernUSG)…

Dr. Julian Wernicke, Attorney at Law at BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT

FCJ “FRAND Objection III” and recent case law of the German District Courts: Further Clarification of Willingness and Security Requirements

5. March 2026IP-Update

Recent Case Law of the German District Courts Recent case law from the Munich patent courts has further refined the requirements for raising a competition law-based FRAND defence against injunctive relief based on standard-essential patents. Several decisions of the Regional Court of Munich I in 2025…

BSH before the UPC and the German courts – first applications, an emerging tendency and open guiding questions [Update on BSH case law]

6. February 2026IP-Update

Update on the article “BSH as a Gateway to Cross-Border Patent Enforcement: The Regeneron/Bayer vs Formycon and Onesta vs BMW Cases” from December 1, 2025 The CJEU’s decision in BSH v Electrolux (C-339/22) has by now been expressly taken up in several decisions of the UPC, in particular with regard…

Greenwashing or permissible environmental claims?

2. February 2026IP-Update

Status of the implementation of the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo Directive) in Germany The European Union is pursuing the goal of better protecting consumers from misleading environmental and sustainability claims with the Empowering Consumers Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/825, or EmpCo Directive for short).

CJEU specifies protection for works of applied art

4. December 2025IP-Update

On 4 December 2025, the CJEU delivered its ruling on how furniture and other objects of applied art should be examined to establish their eligibility for copyright protection as ‘works’ of applied art, in joined cases C-580/23 and C-795/23. Background to the decision The proceedings in question…

BSH as a Gateway to Cross-Border Patent Enforcement: The Regeneron/Bayer vs Formycon and Onesta vs BMW Cases

1. December 2025IP-Update

The CJEU ruling in BSH v. Electrolux (C-339/22) changes the rules of the game. National courts emerge as pivotal nodes in transnational disputes and can rule on patent infringements even if the patent is valid in several countries. Initial practical cases demonstrate the scope of this ruling. With its…