Netgear Deutschland v Huawei (CFI, 11 December 2023)
| Date | 11 December 2023 |
|---|---|
| Court | CFI |
| Division | Munich (DE) Local Division |
| Type of action | Infringement Action |
| Case number(s) | UPC_CFI_9/2023 |
| Registry reference | ORD_586381/2023 · UPC_CFI_9/2023 |
| Parties | Netgear Deutschland GmbH, Netgear Inc., Netgear International Limited v. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. |
Official decision (PDF) · UPC registry entry
Case timeline
- 3 October 2023 : Huawei Technologies v Netgear (CFI, 3 October 2023) ORD575878/2023 · UPC_CFI_9/2023
- 11 December 2023 : Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_593105/2023, 11 December 2023) ORD_593105/2023 · UPC_CFI_9/2023
- 11 December 2023 : Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_587438/2023, 11 December 2023) ORD_587438/2023 · UPC_CFI_9/2023
- 18 January 2024 : Netgear Deutschland v Huawei (CFI, 18 January 2024) App_595631/2023 · UPC_CFI_9/2023
- 9 February 2024 : Huawei v Netgear (CFI, 9 February 2024) ACT_459771/2023 · ORD_2866/2024 · UPC_CFI_9/2023
- 19 February 2024 : Huawei v Netgear Deutschland (CFI, 19 February 2024) App_6074/2024 · ORD_6286/2024 · UPC_CFI_9/2023
Dhenne Avocats represents claimants and defendants in European patent disputes before the Unified Patent Court, including the Paris divisions.
Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026
Our analysis
Summary
By order of 11 December 2023 (UPC_CFI_9/2023, App_586381/2023), the judge-rapporteur of the Munich Local Division rejected as inadmissible an application by the Netgear companies, defendants in Huawei Technologies’ infringement action on EP 3 611 989, for panel review under Rule 333 RoP of his notice that their preliminary objection would be dealt with in the main proceedings (Rule 20.2 RoP). The order closes a route some defendants might be tempted to use and settles who rules on an inadmissible request for review.
Question
Can the judge-rapporteur’s notice that a preliminary objection will be dealt with in the main proceedings be appealed or reviewed by the panel under Rule 333.1 RoP, and who decides an inadmissible request for review?
Decision
A notice under Rule 20.2 RoP is neither a decision allowing the objection nor an order rejecting it, the English and French texts distinguishing between « decision » and « order ». No appeal therefore lies against it. Rule 333.1 RoP covers only decisions or orders of the judge-rapporteur or presiding judge and does not apply to such a notice. The rule serves procedural economy: the judge-rapporteur may decide the objection at once or defer it to the decision on the merits. As Rule 333 RoP does not apply, the inadmissible request is decided by the judge-rapporteur rather than the panel. The order can be challenged only together with the decision on the merits.
Key points for practice
- Deferral of a preliminary objection to the main proceedings (Rule 20.2 RoP) opens neither an appeal nor panel review.
- Practical point: a defendant whose objection is deferred should maintain it in its pleadings on the merits and keep its challenge for an appeal against the final decision.
Provisions applied
- Rules of Procedure
- Rules 19, 20.2, 21.1, 220.1(a), 220.2 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.
Decisions in the same proceedings
Going further
Lexicon: Patent infringement action.
Publications by Matthieu Dhenne: Pleading the Long Arm: What a UPC Statement of Claim Must Carry Beyond Jurisdiction (Kluwer Patent Blog).
Source and translations
- Official source
- Unified Patent Court registry link recorded in the record
- Original language
- not recorded
- Translation available
- no translation recorded the firm’s French record is a summary, not a translation
- Date checked
- not recorded
Follow this case
Proceedings, related decisions, appeals, parties and patents as recorded in the registry and in the Dhenne Avocats corpus. Each link states its source.
Parties
- defendantHuawei Technologies Co. Ltd.42 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
- claimantNetgear Inc.22 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
- claimantNetgear Deutschland GmbH20 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
- claimantNetgear International Limited19 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
Decisions in the same proceedings and documented appeals
- 3 October 2023 Huawei Technologies v Netgear (CFI, 3 October 2023) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
Le juge rapporteur accordera la protection de la règle 262A dès son dépôt dans le circuit approprié, renvoie le huis clos à la formation d'audience, diffère la confidentialité du jugement et rejette l'extension des obligations à des tiers.
- 11 December 2023 Netgear Deutschland v Huawei (CFI, 11 December 2023) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
- 11 December 2023 Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_593105/2023, 11 December 2023) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
La division locale de Munich invite les défenderesses à se prononcer sous quatorze jours sur la disjonction de l'extension de l'action au brevet EP 3 678 321, la demanderesse pouvant répondre sous sept jours.
- 11 December 2023 Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_587438/2023, 11 December 2023) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
L'extension de l'action en contrefaçon à EP 3 678 321 est autorisée, la valeur du litige est portée à 2 millions d'euros et les parties sont invitées à s'exprimer sur une disjonction.
- 18 January 2024 Netgear Deutschland v Huawei (CFI, 18 January 2024) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
La formation confirme l'admission de l'extension de l'action de Huawei au brevet EP 3 678 321, fixe le terme du délai de défense sur l'extension au 11 mars 2024 et autorise l'appel.
- 9 February 2024 Huawei v Netgear (CFI, 9 February 2024) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
Faute d'accord de la demanderesse, la langue de la procédure reste l'allemand. Les audiences se tiendront toutefois en anglais, les représentants y ayant consenti, et des traductions de travail anglaises des écritures sont demandées.
- 19 February 2024 Huawei v Netgear Deutschland (CFI, 19 February 2024) Infringement Action · UPC_CFI_9/2023
La division locale de Munich juge efficace le dépôt combiné de Huawei du 29 janvier 2024, fixe le calendrier et l'audience de juin 2024 et fixe la valeur de la procédure à 2 millions d'euros.
- 22 February 2024 Netgear v Huawei Technologies (CoA, ORD_9613/2024, 22 February 2024) Application for an Order for expedition of an appeal (RoP225(e)) · appeal, first-instance number cited in the decision
La cour d'appel rejette la demande de Netgear d'abréger le délai de réponse de Huawei, déposée le dernier jour de son propre délai, les intérêts de l'intimé et les principes d'une procédure régulière l'emportant.
- 22 February 2024 Netgear v Huawei Technologies (CoA, ORD_9612/2024, 22 February 2024) Application for an Order for expedition of an appeal (RoP225(e)) · appeal, first-instance number cited in the decision
La cour d'appel rejette la demande de Netgear d'abréger le délai de réponse de Huawei, déposée le dernier jour de son propre délai, les intérêts de l'intimé et les principes d'une procédure régulière l'emportant.
- 11 March 2024 Netgear International v Huawei (CoA, 11 March 2024) Appeal RoP220.2 · appeal, first-instance number cited in the decision
La cour d'appel annule partiellement l'ordonnance de la division locale de Munich du 18 janvier 2024 et fixe au 18 avril 2024 le délai de défense, et de demande reconventionnelle en nullité, sur le brevet ajouté par Huawei.
- 11 March 2024 NETGEAR Deutschland v Huawei (CoA, 11 March 2024) Appeal RoP220.2 · appeal, first-instance number cited in the decision
La cour d'appel annule partiellement l'ordonnance de la division locale de Munich du 18 janvier 2024 et fixe au 18 avril 2024 le délai de défense, et de demande reconventionnelle en nullité, sur le brevet ajouté par Huawei.
- 21 March 2024 Netgear v Huawei (CoA, 21 March 2024) Request for a discretionary review (RoP 220.3) · appeal, first-instance number cited in the decision
Seule la formation statue sur la recevabilité d'une demande de réexamen de la règle 333, la décision du juge-rapporteur de joindre l'exception préliminaire au fond peut faire l'objet d'un tel réexamen, et l'affaire est renvoyée à la division locale de Munich.
What the record states
- Nature of the act
- Infringement Action
- Outcome (Dhenne Avocats summary)
- L'avis du juge rapporteur renvoyant l'exception préliminaire au fond n'est ni une décision ni une ordonnance au sens de la règle 333.1, la demande de réexamen par la formation est irrecevable et c'est le juge rapporteur qui la rejette.
- Appeal
- An appeal is documented in the corpus (see above).
- Instance
- First-instance decision, whether it has become final is not recorded.
Patents mentioned
EP 3 611 989mentioned in: Dhenne Avocats analysis Follow this patent
Related decisions cited in the analyses
- Huawei v Netgear Deutschland (CFI, 19 February 2024) cited in this record
- Huawei v Netgear (CFI, 9 February 2024) cited in this record
- Netgear Deutschland v Huawei (CFI, 18 January 2024) cited in this record
- Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_593105/2023, 11 December 2023) cited in this record
- Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_587438/2023, 11 December 2023) cited in this record
- Huawei Technologies v Netgear (CFI, 3 October 2023) cited in this record
Patents and standards
| Publication | Role in the dispute | Family | Standard and declaration | Pool | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EP 3 611 989Method and apparatus for transmitting wireless local area network information recorded proprietor: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd | Mentioned in the analysis (role not qualified) Also mentioned in 19 other decision(s): Huawei v Netgear (CFI, ORD_598540/2023, 18 December 2024) · Huawei Technologies v Sercomm (CFI, 8 July 2026) · Huawei Technologies v Netgear (CFI, 13 January 2025) · Huawei Technologies v Netgear Deutschland (CFI, ORD_1830/2025, 10 Janu · Netgear Deutschland v Huawei Technologies (CFI, 10 January 2025) · Netgear v Huawei Technologies (CFI, 27 December 2024) · Huawei v Netgear (CFI, 11 December 2024) · Huawei v Netgear International (CFI, 9 September 2024) | not recorded | not recorded | not recorded | Espacenet · European Patent Register existence and title of the publication checked on 30 October 2026 (Google Patents, Espacenet and Register links are not checked automatically) mentioned in: Dhenne Avocats analysis |
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