Winnow Solutions v Orbisk (CFI, 14 October 2024)

Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026

Our analysis

Summary

By order of 14 October 2024 (UPC_CFI_327/2024, ACT_36388/2024, ORD_44108/2024), the judge-rapporteur of The Hague Local Division (E. Brinkman) partly granted the request of Winnow Solutions, proprietor of EP 3 198 245 on monitoring food waste, for Orbisk to produce evidence on its Orbi system. Production is limited to two categories of technical specifications.

Question

On what conditions, and to what extent, may a defendant in an infringement action be ordered to produce technical documents under Art. 59 UPCA and Rule 190 RoP?

Decision

Four conditions apply: reasonably available evidence supporting the claims, specified evidence in the other party’s control, protection of confidential information and proportionality (paragraph 8). Infringement is established prima facie, features 1.4 and 1.5 remaining in dispute for the merits. Validity is presumed, there being no clear-cut case of invalidity (paragraphs 9 and 10). As the request is too broad or insufficiently justified in part, it is limited to the documents needed for those two features, and Winnow may make a reasoned further request at the interim conference (paragraphs 11 and 12). Confidentiality will be settled later, and the parties are invited to agree on a confidentiality club excluding natural persons (paragraph 13). Orbisk must produce, within two weeks, the specifications describing how disposal events are categorised and how erroneous weights are detected and corrected. Failing that, the division will take this into account (Rule 190.7 RoP).

Key points for practice

• Practical point: a production request should target the disputed features, the division will narrow an overly broad request itself and leave confidentiality to a later stage.

Provisions applied

Agreement on a Unified Patent Court

Arts. 41(3), 42, 53 and 59

Rules of Procedure

Rules 172, 190, 262.2 and 262A

Directive 2004/48/EC

Art. 3

Case law cited

NanoString v 10x Genomics, Court of Appeal, 11 March 2024, Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications v Panasonic, Court of Appeal, 24 September 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.