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Joinder of nullity actions does not reduce fees retroactively

BPatG 3 Ni 37/08 (EU)Federal Patent Court / Division 3Nov 17, 2011Dismissed

Open source

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The Federal Patent Court held that when several nullity actions are joined, the procedural fees that had already accrued and been paid for each separate action are not retroactively reduced or waived. Joinder affects court fees only from the date of the joinder order onward, so that only then do fees accrue once rather than separately for each action.

Omnilex headnote

§ 147 ZPO; § 3 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 PatKostG; § 2 Abs. 2 PatKostG: Joinder of multiple nullity actions has only prospective fee effects. Court fees that have already become due and been paid for separately filed actions are not retroactively remitted or reduced by the subsequent joinder. The joinder order merely limits the further accrual of fees to a single set of court fees from that point forward (consid. not specified).

Full text

BPatG — 3 Ni 37/08 (EU), Beschluss

Entscheidungsdatum: 2011-11-17

Aktenzeichen: 3 Ni 37/08 (EU)

Dokumenttyp: Beschluss

Normen: § 147 ZPO, § 3 Abs 1 Nr 4 PatKostG, § 2 Abs 2 PatKostG

Spruchkörper: 3. Senat

Leitsatz

Verfahrensgebühren bei Klageverbindung

Die vor der Verbindung mehrerer Nichtigkeitsklagen (§ 147 ZPO) mit der Einreichung der einzelnen Nichtigkeitsklagen jeweils fällig gewordenen und gezahlten Verfahrensgebühren (pro Klage 4,5-fach unter Verweis auf das GKG vom Streitwert abhängig) werden nicht nachträglich aufgrund der Prozessverbindung erlassen oder ermäßigt. Erst ab dem Verbindungsbeschluss fallen Gerichtsgebühren nur noch einfach an.

Keywords

joindernullity actioncourt feesprocedural feesretroactive reductionfee remission

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether procedural fees already incurred for separately filed nullity actions are retroactively waived or reduced after joinder under Section 147 ZPO and the Patent Costs Act.

Extracted holding

Fees that became due and were paid for each individual nullity action before joinder are not subsequently waived or reduced because of joinder; only from the joinder order onward do court fees accrue only once.

Extracted reasoning

Joinder changes the fee situation only prospectively. The previously accrued fees remain based on the separate filing of each action; the joinder does not affect fees already due and paid.

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