The enforcement of patent protection will be much easier and faster also in Germany due to a judgment of the ECJ.

In the judgment of April 28, 2022, the ECJ ruled that a preliminary injunction can be issued in patent infringement cases even if the patent in dispute has not yet been proven to be legally valid in two-sided opposition or nullity proceedings.

According to previous case law, in order for a preliminary injunction to be issued, a patent in suit had to have already been defended in a two-sided legal validity proceeding in order to sufficiently secure its legal existence. This high hurdle has now been lowered by the ECJ, so that it is now possible to take action against a patent infringer by means of a preliminary injunction directly after a patent has been granted.