Wilus Institute of Standards v ASUSTeK Computer (CFI, 19 August 2025)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By an order of 19 August 2025 (UPC_CFI_452/2025, ORD_34904/2025), the judge-rapporteur of the Mannheim Local Division (Judge Böttcher) extended to 30 September 2025 the time limit for the statement of defence of five ASUS group companies, defendants to Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology’s infringement action concerning EP 3 849 157, and otherwise rejected their application. The order holds that a time limit runs irrespective of access to the unredacted version of an exhibit, delayed access justifying only a compensatory extension.

Question

Should the time limit for the statement of defence run only from the final decision on a confidentiality request (Rule 262A), for as long as the defendants lack access to the unredacted version of an exhibit?

Decision

No. A procedural time limit runs regardless of when a party obtains access to the unredacted version of a pleading or exhibit. On a reasoned request, it may obtain an extension compensating for the period without full access. Exhibit BB1 concerned only a minor part of the statement of claim, whose relevant content already appeared in the unredacted version, and only access to one item of evidence had been delayed until 1 August 2025: an extension of about one week was justified and sufficient. The remainder was rejected because the defendants, served at the end of June 2025, raised the issue only on 14 August 2025.

Key points for practice

• A defendant without access to a redacted exhibit should raise the point immediately and seek a targeted extension. The time limit for the defence is not suspended by Rule 262A proceedings.

Provisions applied

Rules of Procedure

Rule 262A

Case law cited

Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland v Amgen, Court of Appeal, 13 October 2023 (UPC_CoA_320/2023), Lionra Technologies v Cisco Systems, Court of Appeal, 12 August 2025 (UPC_CoA_360/2025), Panasonic Holdings v Xiaomi Technology, Mannheim Local Division, 9 September 2024 (UPC_CFI_219/2023 and UPC_CFI_223/2023)

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.