Rule 68: Contents of the Defence to the Statement for a declaration of non-infringement

Possible orders that can be applied for in the interim procedure are, in principle, all orders of the Court provided for in the UPCA and the Rules of Procedure. For a Statement of non-infringement, however, only a few orders may be relevant. Normally, the defendant in an action for a declaration of non-infringement does not lack any means of proof; therefore, all the rules on proof (Rule 190), on information (Rule 191), on preserving evidence (Rule 192), or on inspection (Rule 199) may be applicable in only a few cases. The reason for this is that the defendant has no direct advantage in the rejection of the claim (except for the cost decision in his favour). The defendant cannot enforce that decision, even if the Court decides positively on the infringement question. Claims arising out of an infringement are not the subject matter of the action. If the defendant wants to bring an infringement claim, he must do so in an infringement action (→ Art 33(6) UPCA).