Suinno Mobile & AI Technologies Licensing v Microsoft (CFI, 24 January 2025)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By an order of 24 January 2025 (dated 2024 in the text by mistake), the judge-rapporteur of the Paris Central Division (Judge Catallozzi) rejected the request of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the EPO (epi) for access to the pleadings and evidence in the infringement action Suinno Mobile & AI Technologies Licensing v Microsoft (UPC_CFI_164/2024, EP 2 671 173). An interest in a general legal question, here representation by in-house European patent attorneys, was not enough.

Question

May a professional body obtain access to a case file to follow a legal question, the right of in-house European patent attorneys to represent parties, pending on appeal?

Decision

The judge restated the principle of open proceedings (Art. 10(1) and Art. 45 UPCA) and the balancing required by the Court of Appeal (paragraphs 1 to 4), the applicant must state the purpose of the request and why access is necessary (paragraph 5). The interest of epi members, affected by the pending appeal, was acknowledged (paragraphs 7 and 8), but an interest in a legal issue does not justify access where the integrity of the proceedings is at stake (paragraphs 9 and 10). The question, general and purely legal, could not be met through the file. The arguments already appear in earlier orders and the Court of Appeal’s ruling was imminent (paragraphs 11 to 13). The parties had left the matter to the Court.

Key points for practice

• Public access requires an interest tied to the case itself. An interest in a cross-cutting legal question yields to the integrity of the proceedings.
• Practical point: an access request should show why the file, rather than the published orders, is needed for its purpose.

Provisions applied

Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

Art. 10(1) and Art. 45

Rules of Procedure

Rule 262.1(b)

Case law cited

Court of Appeal, 10 April 2024 (Ocado Innovation v Autostore), Paris Central Division, 23 September 2024 (UPC_CFI_189/2024), Nordic-Baltic Regional Division, 17 September 2024 (UPC_CFI_8/2023), Vienna Local Division, 12 August 2024 (UPC_CFI_33/2024)

Prepared by Dhenne Avocats from the official decision, consulted on 10 October 2026. The database is updated every week, on Friday. Only the official text is authoritative.