Chint New Energy v JingAo Solar (CoA, 9 July 2025)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By order of 9 July 2025 (UPC_CoA_430/2025, APL_23093/2025), the Court of Appeal (Judges Grabinski, Blok and Gougé) held inadmissible Chint New Energy Technology’s appeal against the Munich Local Division judge rapporteur’s order of 5 May 2025 requiring it to provide security for costs to JingAo Solar in the infringement action under EP 2 787 541. Since there had been no prior panel review, the substantive question, whether a defendant that counterclaims may be ordered to provide security under Art. 69(4) UPCA, remains unanswered.

Question

Can a judge rapporteur’s order on security for costs be appealed directly, where that judge granted leave to appeal?

Decision

No. A security for costs order made by the judge rapporteur is a case management order within Rule 333.1, which may be appealed only after review by the panel (paragraph 7). The Court examines admissibility of its own motion, even though the respondent did not raise it (paragraph 8). The leave granted by the judge rapporteur does not bind the Court: admissibility is not at that judge’s discretion, and the leave creates no legitimate expectation given the consistent case law (paragraph 9). Referral to the full Court of Appeal (Rule 238A) is refused (paragraph 10), and no costs order is made (paragraph 11).

Key points for practice

• Practical point: against a judge rapporteur’s security for costs order, the panel must be asked to review it first (Rule 333), leave to appeal granted by that judge does not remove that step.

Provisions applied

Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

Art. 69(4)

Rules of Procedure

Rules 158, 238A and 333.1

Case law cited

Court of Appeal: Netgear v Huawei, 21 March 2024 and Total Semiconductor v Texas Instruments, 14 January 2025

Related decisions

• Chint New Energy, 20 May 2025, Court of Appeal order refusing suspensive effect and expedition in the same appeal.
• Astronergy Solarmodule, 9 July 2025, order of the same day ruling on the merits of security for costs in the parallel Hamburg proceedings.

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.