UPC Board of Appeal: Service of the Statement of Claim

The claimant requested that the statements of claim be served on the Asian defendants by email pursuant to Rule 275.1 of the Rules of Procedure or by public notice in the form of a written communication posted in publicly accessible premises of the Local Division Munich. The Local Division Munich rejected this request, and the Court of Appeal upheld the rejection. A statement of claim cannot be served on a company in China or Hong Kong by email if the recipient is not authorized to accept service. Likewise, service cannot be effected at this time by public notice in the form of a written communication posted in the publicly accessible premises of a local division of the Unified Patent Court. Attempts at service in China must generally follow the procedures set forth in the Hague Convention before service through alternative methods or to an alternative location is permitted (Unified Patent Court, 29 July 2024, Court of Appeal 69/2024; likewise Unified Patent Court, 5 August 2024, Court of Appeal 86/2024; Unified Patent Court, 5 August 2024, Court of Appeal 183/2024; Unified Patent Court, 6 August 2024, Court of Appeal 205/2024).