Patent Litigation In Switzerland At The Brink Of A New Era
Mondaq Business Briefing › Switzerland Law Articles in English (2011)
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Patent Litigation In Switzerland At The Brink Of A New Era
I. Introduction
Creativity is something everybody expects from a painter, a writer, or another professional in the liberal arts. It is not normally expected from a lawyer, and it takes some experience with the law to find and appreciate creativity in a lawyer. Everybody who has had the privilege of working with Guntram Rahn knows that his mind is not only sharp but also that it is as creative as that of the many inventors he has helped to protect the results of their creativity. And he became an inventor himself when he invented what became known as the "Swiss torpedo". Switzerland is not located adjacent the sea so the term "Swiss land mine" would have been more to the point – though politically not quite correct. Both the torpedo and the land mine aim to destroy – or render ineffective – a target: The "Swiss torpedo" sought to render ineffective the threat of an action for patent infringement before the Düsseldorf Court by the Swiss proprietor of a European patent. The "torpedo" was a petition for a declaration of non-infringement by the alleged infringer to the Cantonal Court of Grison, this being the proper venue because the patent proprietor was domiciled in the Canton of Grison in Switzerland. This strategy, developed by Guntram, was a complete success: the Düsseldorf Court did stay the infringement proceeding which had ...See the full content of this document
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