UPC post Electrolux

The UPC in IMC Créations v Mul-T-Lock France and Mul-T-Lock Switzerland has applied BSH v Electrolux.

The court decided it has jurisdiction to rule on the alleged infringement of the national designations of the asserted patent in countries where it does not have unitary effect, specifically Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. All of which are EP territory states and two of which are not in the EU.

But that is not the interesting part of this judgment. No, that finding follows BSH v Electrolux, but only for Mul-T-Lock France which is domiciled in a Member State of the EU.

The UPC has in this case for the first time apparently declared jurisdiction to determine infringement of non-UP territory patents by a defendant, Mul-T-Lock Switzerland, who is not domiciled anywhere in the EU nor UPC Contracting Member States.

This is a highly contentious issue which could have a wide reaching impact. Is this the first sign that the UPC is willing to extend BSH v Electrolux to apply not only to defendants domiciled in the EU but to any defendant regardless of where it is domiciled?