Ona Patents v Apple (CFI, 30 August 2024)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By order of 30 August 2024 (UPC_CFI_99/2024, ACT_11910/2024, App_43001/2024), the presiding judge and judge-rapporteur of the Düsseldorf Local Division (Thomas) granted the confidentiality request filed by Apple Inc. and four other Apple companies, defendants in the infringement action on EP 2 263 098 brought by Ona Patents. The order holds that a negative fact, namely that a product lacks a functionality, may be confidential information.

Question

May profit margins and technical information on the accused products, including the fact that a product does not support a functionality, be protected under Art. 58 UPCA and Rule 262A RoP?

Decision

Yes. The request is admissible under Art. 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/943 and Art. 58 UPCA, and the formal requirements of Rule 262A RoP are met, the claimant having been heard without disputing the substance. Non-public margin data is confidential, since figures on online portals are not validated by the defendants. The names of staff with access to the data are protected too. Technical information known only to the engineers concerned is protected, as a negative fact does not in itself rule out confidentiality. Access is limited to three named lawyers and their teams and to Ona’s chief executive, following the principles of the order of 8 August 2024, the request for access by party experts remains to be decided.

Key points for practice

• Practical point: a defendant may protect a non-infringement case resting on the absence of a functionality, provided it shows that the information is known only to a restricted circle.

Provisions applied

Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

Art. 58

Rules of Procedure

Rules 262.2 and 262A

Directive (EU) 2016/943

Art. 9(1) and (2)(a)

Case law cited

Avago Technologies International v Tesla Germany, Hamburg Local Division, 3 November 2023, 10x Genomics v Curio Bioscience, Düsseldorf Local Division, 11 March 2024, Curio Bioscience v 10x Genomics, Düsseldorf Local Division, 8 August 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.