LIFE 365 v HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (CFI, 18 April 2025)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By procedural order of 18 April 2025 (UPC_CFI_358/2023, ORD_7615/2025), the Paris Local Division (Judge-rapporteur Lignières) partly granted LIFE 365 S.R.L. and LIFE365 ITALY S.P.A., which are being sued before the Court of Genoa for infringement of the Italian part of the same patents, access to the file of the infringement action on EP 2 089 230 and EP 1 737 669 brought by Hewlett-Packard Development Company against LAMA France, subject to the confidentiality protection already ordered. The order shows how the UPC calibrates access for a third party litigating the same patents before a national court.

Question

To what extent may a third party, defending national proceedings on the same patents, obtain access to the written pleadings and evidence on file under Rule 262.1(b)?

Decision

The register is public in principle, unless a balancing against the interests protected by Art. 45 UPCA requires refusal. A reasoned request must identify the pleadings and evidence sought and explain why access is needed. Sufficiently reasoned but too broad, the request was granted for the validity debate, which is useful in the Italian case since the patents are identical: the redacted statement of claim of 9 October 2023, LAMA France’s statement of defence of 11 February 2024 and the redacted reply of 15 April 2024, but not the auxiliary application to amend, which was not before the national court. The cited exhibits, publicly available notably from the EPO, need not be disclosed. HP’s technical report was refused, as nothing showed that the cartridges in the two disputes had the same origin.

Key points for practice

• Practical point: a third party should specify the pleadings and exhibits sought and link each to an issue before the national court, a blanket request will be cut down.

Provisions applied

Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

Art. 45

Rules of Procedure

Rules 262.1(b), 262A and 333

Case law cited

Ocado Innovation v Autostore, Court of Appeal, 10 April 2024, Court of Appeal, 9 January 2025 (UPC_CoA_480/2024), Hewlett-Packard Development Company v LAMA France, Paris Local Division, 13 November 2024

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.