In issue 10\/2022 of “GRUR-Prax – Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht \/ Praxis im Immaterialg\u00fcter- und Wettbewerbsrecht” BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT partner and attorney at law Dr. Rudolf B\u00f6ckenholt discusses a decision of the ECJ of March 24, 2022 (T-544\/21, GRUR-RS 2022, 6292) on missing a time limit for appeal during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The court states that fortuity and force majeure only exist in the case of objective, extraordinary circumstances with inevitable consequences outside the sphere of influence of the affected party, against which the latter cannot subjectively take precautions without making unreasonable sacrifices in order to avoid a legal disadvantage.<\/p>\n
At the time of service of the first-instance decision in the fall of 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic had not been an abnormal or unforeseeable circumstance, but had been known for more than a year, and restrictions on public and private life no longer changed this, insofar as the lockdown had not been complete. Appropriate precautionary and preparatory measures would have to be taken to ensure the processing of deadline-bound transactions within a prolonged global pandemic situation.<\/p>\n