Costs and reimbursement in the new UPC system
The parties to a proceeding must pay court fees for the proceeding. These shall be paid in advance unless otherwise specified in the Rules of Procedure. If a party has not paid the prescribed court fees, it may be excluded from further participation in the proceedings. The court fees for proceedings before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) consist of a fixed fee and a fee based on the value in dispute.
Court fees
For infringement actions and for actions for declaration of non-infringement, the fixed fee is EUR 11,000 and the fee depending on the value in dispute is between EUR 2,500 for a value in dispute of EUR 500,000 to EUR 750,000 and the maximum of EUR 325,000 for a value in dispute of EUR 50,000,000. The fixed fee for applications for interim measures and for nullity counterclaims is also EUR 11,000 each and the fixed fee for nullity actions is EUR 20,000. The upper limit for the fee dependent on the value in dispute for nullity counterclaims is EUR 20,000. The fixed fee for appeals is usually EUR 11,000.
Attorney fees
As in Germany, in proceedings before the UPC the costs of the legal dispute and other costs incurred by the prevailing party are generally reimbursed by the losing party. However, reimbursement only takes place up to a fixed upper limit if the costs are reasonable and appropriate and if there are no grounds of equity to the contrary. The upper limit of the costs to be reimbursed by the losing party in one instance is EUR 38,000 for a value in dispute of EUR 250,000 and EUR 2,000,000 for a value in dispute of more than EUR 50,000,000. In the event that a party is only partially successful or in the event of exceptional circumstances, the court may order that the costs be allocated on an equitable basis or that the parties bear their own costs. If a party has caused unnecessary costs to another party or to the court, it shall bear such costs itself.
Security deposits
In addition, at the request of the defendant, the court may order the plaintiff to provide reasonable security for the costs of the litigation and the defendant’s other costs.
