Koninklijke KPN v Oleading (CFI, UPC_CFI_565/2024, 28 May 2026)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By an order of 28 May 2026 in joined infringement actions UPC_CFI_565/2024 and UPC_CFI_2246/2025 brought by Koninklijke KPN N.V. against Oleading B.V., Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp. and three other defendants (EP 2 337 403 and EP 3 944 587), the judge-rapporteur of The Hague Local Division sets out how KPN’s licences are to be disclosed and the confidentiality regime governing them, with a view to the defendants’ FRAND defence. He refuses to postpone the statement of defence until full disclosure.

Question

How should disclosure of the patentee’s licences, access by the defendant’s employees and the timetable for the statement of defence be coordinated where a confidentiality regime already exists before a national court?

Decision

Within five weeks, KPN must give the defendants’ external counsel and experts access to all its licences with smartphone manufacturers since 2015 (item 1 of the order). Access obtained by Oppo employees before the Düsseldorf Regional Court is mirrored on the same terms, together with the confidentiality regime agreed in those proceedings, and the judge notes that a culpable breach may attract a penalty payment of up to EUR 250,000 per contravention (items 2 to 4). The request to postpone the statement of defence is refused, as further delay is incompatible with the aim of deciding cases within one year. The defence is due three months and five weeks after the order, and the defendants may supplement their submissions later (items 11 and 13). The period for responding to applications for employee access is cut to five working days (item 12).

Key points for practice

• Phased disclosure does not justify postponing the statement of defence: the right to supplement submissions later offsets the initial access restrictions.
• A confidentiality regime agreed before a national court can be adopted as it stands before the UPC.

Provisions applied

Case law cited

Earlier order of 23 April 2025 (ORD_17693/2025)

Related decisions

• Koninklijke KPN v Oleading, 2 June 2026, order varying this order.
• Koninklijke KPN v Oleading, 18 August 2026, later order on the confidentiality club and access to licences.

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.