The Unified Patent Court (TUP) has rejected the request for precautionary measures seeking the use of video referee (VAR) technology at EURO 2024 in Germany.
Although this “reporter” has not yet had access to the grounds of the Decision, it appears (from what has emerged in other media) that the Hamburg local division of the Court has not considered the existence of periculum in mora (urgency in the adoption of the measures), nor fumus bonus iuris (appearance of infringement of Ballinno’s patent).
The Decision can be appealed, but considering the processing times, it can be said that the VAR may continue to be used in the EuroCup, at least in this edition.
On the other hand, the nullity action that Kinexon filed against Ballinno’s European patent before the Central Division of Paris is processing. We will see (not before the end of the EuroCup) how this case finishing.
These types of issues are always very high-profile, but this makes it possible to publicize the importance that in the practice an IP right can present and the significance of an action of this magnitude. Situations like this can also occur due to the launch of new mobile terminals at the time of the Mobile World Congress or even the paralysis of the assembly line of a car or the distribution of a medicine, which requires obtaining specialized and experienced advice in this type of matters, as the one that Abril Abogados has been providing to its clients for years.
We will follow this matter, but in the meantime we will enjoy the EuroCup, which Spain will surely conquer! (sorry my dear European colleagues)
Fernando Ortega
Lawyer
