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Bundestag passes the second law for the simplification and modernization of patent law
The draft law for the second law for the simplification and modernization of patent law, which was passed on June 11, 2021, is intended to further simplify and modernize the Patent Act (PatG) and other laws in the field of industrial property protection. To this end, the adopted draft law provides that the possibility, which already exists under current law, to take into account considerations of proportionality when seeking injunctive relief is also sufficiently applied in judicial practice as a corrective. To this end, the draft law provides that injunctive relief based on patent infringement may be limited for reasons of proportionality.
Through the new Section 139 (1) sentence 3 PatG, it is expressly provided for the limitation of the injunctive relief:
"The claim is excluded insofar as the claim would lead to disproportionate hardship for the infringer or third parties not justified by the exclusive right due to the special circumstances of the individual case and the requirements of good faith."
For a better synchronization of the infringement proceedings before the civil courts and the nullity proceedings before the BPatG, the proceedings before the BPatG shall be streamlined. In addition, the analogous application of individual provisions for the protection of trade secrets in patent, utility model and semiconductor protection litigation is planned.