UPC Court of Appeal: Procedural Decision: Change of the Language of Proceedings

The fact that (most) parties are not resident in countries where the language of proceedings chosen by the plaintiff is an official language is an important factor when deciding on a request to change the language of proceedings to the language in which the patent was granted. When deciding on the change of the language of proceedings on grounds of fairness, all relevant circumstances must be taken into account. These circumstances should primarily relate to the specific case and the position of the parties, in particular that of the defendant. If the balancing of interests leads to a balanced result, the defendant's position is decisive. In the present case, the Court of Appeal confirmed the change of the language of proceedings from German to English, inter alia because only one of nine defendants has its seat in Germany and English is the internal working language of the defendants' group of companies (UPC 19.12.2025,CoA 902/2025).