Hoffmann Eitle - München, London

Hoffmann · Eitle Newsletter 5/2011 - UK Court of Appeal Rejects German Approach

Author(s): Alistair Russell

In the Hoffmann · Eitle Newsletter 5/2011, Alistair Russell of our London office discusses a recent decision "Schütz v Werit" of the UK Court of Appeal. In this decision, the Court ruled that, where a component forms part of the patented product as defined in the claims, its replacement in general constitutes a prohibited re-making of the product independent of its contribution to the technical effect achieved by the invention. In doing so, the UK court expressly rejected the German balance-of-interest approach to determining whether the replacement of a wearing part is prohibited (re-)making or permissible repair.

A more detailed discussion of this decision will be published in issue 3 of EIPR, in February 2012.