Huawei v MediaTek (CFI, 26 February 2026)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

In a procedural order of 26 February 2026 (UPC_CFI_1235/2025, EP 4 142 215), the judge-rapporteur of the Munich Local Division amended his own order of 27 January 2026, which had largely granted the law firm Quinn Emanuel access to the parties’ written submissions: access is deferred until the final conclusion of the panel review requested by Huawei. The order shows how the usefulness of a challenge to an access decision is preserved where access, once given, cannot be undone.

Question

May the judge-rapporteur, on application, suspend his own public access order while a panel review under Rule 333 is pending, and does this require payment of the Rule 223.1 fee?

Decision

Huawei’s suspension request was admissible and well founded. It rests directly on Rule 335, so whether Rule 223 applies by analogy could be left open (paragraphs 7 and 8). The judge-rapporteur retains power to amend his order despite the review request (paragraphs 11 and 12). The review request is not manifestly inadmissible and the fee was paid (paragraphs 14 and 15). Immediate access would effectively end the dispute and the knowledge gained could not be removed, even by a later confidentiality undertaking (paragraphs 16 and 17), the interest in suspension prevails (paragraphs 18 and 19). The Rule 223.1 fee is not required (paragraphs 20 and 21).

Key points for practice

• Rule 335 allows the judge-rapporteur to defer access to documents pending review (paragraphs 11 to 19).
• Practical point: a party resisting access granted to a third party should seek suspension at once, since the harm is irreversible once access is given (paragraphs 16 and 17).

Provisions applied

Rules of Procedure

Rules 220.2, 223, 262.1(b), 333 and 335

Related decisions

• Huawei v MediaTek, 26 March 2026, later decision on public access in the same 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.