A Farewell to Cross-Border Injunctions?

Annette Kur (Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law) has written an article in the latest issue of the International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (IIC 2006, 37(7), 844-855) entitled, "A Farewell to Cross-Border Injunctions? The ECJ Decisions GAT v. LuK and Roche Nederland v. Primus and Goldenberg". The abstract states [links to the judgments have been inserted]:

The two ECJ judgments of 13 July 2006 – GAT v. LuK and Roche Nederland – have stirred much concern in the patent community. On the basis of its reasoning, which is amazingly brief both in view of the complexity of the issues decided and the length of the time it has taken the court to ponder about its decisions, it was ruled that contrary to practice presently established in some Member Countries, the courts in the country of registration are exclusively competent to adjudicate validity, even when it only arises as an incidental matter. It is also not possible to join claims against affiliated companies for coordinated infringement of European bundle patents before the courts in the country where the principal office steering the activities has its seat.

You can see our summary of GAT v Luk here. You may also be interested in reading the contemporary ECJ case of Reisch Montage AG v Kiesel Baumaschinen Handels GmbH (13 July 2006), which is summarised here.