Ortovox’s settlement with Mammut shows UPC’s reputation as a catalyst for settlements grows

Two more high-profile disputes have recently been resolved outside the courtroom: Ortovox vs Mammut and Plant-e vs Arkyne. These cases underscore the UPC's increasing influence in driving parties towards amicable resolutions, even in complex, multi-jurisdictional patent disputes.

A significant number of UPC disputes have concluded with a settlement since the start of the year. Following Roche’s resolution with Tandem Vital Aire and other defendants earlier this month, two more notable disputes have now reached their conclusion.

Outdoor equipment manufacturers Mammut and Ortovox have now withdrawn their respective appeals against a judgment by the Düsseldorf local division. The two parties reached a settlement, thus ending their dispute over avalanche rescue devices, which had played out not only at the UPC but also in Switzerland.

An avalanche of PIs

By the time they reached a settlement, the parties had weathered numerous preliminary injunctions. The dispute began when Düsseldorf local division banned Mammut from selling its Barryvox avalanche rescue devices in Austria and Germany via an ex-parte PI in December 2023. Ortovox claimed the devices infringed EP 3 466 498, which protects a method of operation and search device for avalanche victims. The patent owner enforced the judgment immediately.

In April 2024, Mammut failed to overturn the ex-parte PI. In September, the Court of Appeal in Luxembourg upheld the sales ban against Mammut’s products. It was the first PI to survive both UPC instances.

Earlier this year, Ortovox obtained a permanent injunction against Mammut from the Düsseldorf local division. The UPC panel, under presiding judge Ronny Thomas, permanently enjoined the Swiss outdoor equipment supplier from selling its Barryvox devices in Austria and Germany for infringing Ortovox’s EP 498 (case ID: UPC_CFI_16/2024). The court rejected Mammut’s counterclaim for revocation.

However, a month later, in mid-February, the Swiss Federal Patent Court in Zurich only partially upheld Ortovox’s EP 498.