Panasonic Holdings v OROPE Germany (CFI, 16 May 2024)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By order of 16 May 2024 (UPC_CFI_216/2023, App_4931/2024), the judge-rapporteur of the Mannheim Local Division rejected, at this stage, the applications for production of documents filed on 4 February 2024 by OROPE Germany and Guangdong OPPO, defendants to Panasonic’s infringement action on the standard-essential patent EP 3 096 315. The order frames the disclosure of comparable licences in the FRAND debate and expressly departs from the Munich Local Division’s approach in parallel proceedings.

Question

Should the Court order, under Rule 190 RoP, production of all of the patentee’s and third parties’ SEP licences, supplier agreements and information on transfers out of the portfolio, where two comparable licences have already been produced under a confidentiality regime?

Decision

As licences X and Y have already been produced, no order is needed (paragraph 1). The request for the patentee’s other licences and those of third parties is too vague and amounts to a fishing expedition: the transparency required by the CJEU in Huawei v ZTE (paragraph 63) obliges the patentee to explain the rationale of its offer, possibly through a few comparable licences, and applies only towards an infringer willing to take a licence, absent any indication of other relevant licences, proportionality and third-party confidentiality weigh against a broader order (paragraphs 2 and 3). Supplier agreements must first be sought from the suppliers (paragraph 4), the requests on transfers out of the portfolio and financial agreements are rejected (paragraphs 5 and 6). Any later production orders are reserved.

Key points for practice

• Practical point: before the Mannheim Local Division, a defendant in SEP proceedings seeking production of licences beyond those relied on must show concretely that further relevant comparable licences exist, a blanket request covering the whole licence portfolio will be rejected.

Provisions applied

Rules of Procedure

Rules 190 and 333

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.