The Barcelona Commercial Court and the European Union Trademark Courts of Alicante have published the “Protocol for on-call service and prompt response” for the Mobile World Congress 2022 – to be held from 28 February to 3 March. The event is expected to attract one of the world’s largest crowds of leading companies in the technology and telecommunications industry, which will seize the opportunity to showcase their latest product launches and business solutions. The purpose is to ensure that effective measures are taken to protect these rights during the world’s largest trade fair for the industry.

The effectiveness of this Protocol, which will be applicable for the eighth consecutive year, is demonstrated by the volume of cases handled and resolved at the 2019 edition of the Mobile World Congress, prior to the pandemic: a total of 50 cases were admitted and resolved within the framework of the Protocol’s application through protective letters before the Barcelona Commercial Court (47) as well as before the EU Trademark Court of Alicante (3). Although there were fewer companies attending the event, the 2021 edition recorded a significantly high number of resolved cases: a total of 18 cases were resolved by means of fact-finding proceedings and injunctive relief.

What is the Protocol?

As in previous years, the 2022 Protocol refers to legal proceedings involving patents and technological innovations and industrial designs scheduled to be introduced at the Mobile World Congress, as well as trademark and intellectual property rights infringement, antitrust and unfair competition and unlawful advertising acts regarding products and materials to be exhibited or displayed at the Mobile World Congress.

The Protocol outlines the basis for the preferential and priority processing by the Barcelona Commercial Court concerning requests for preliminary proceedings, fact-finding proceedings, urgent injunctive relief (with or without a hearing), protective letters, as well as mechanisms to preserve the confidentiality of information that may be considered a trade secret and for the immediate execution of injunctive relief and urgent proceedings ordered by the European Union Trademark Courts of Alicante in matters relating to European Union trademarks and Community designs.

Specifically, the Protocol for on-call service and prompt response undertakes to act in the event of potential intellectual property rights infringement cases during the Congress under the following terms:

1. Provide preferential and priority processing to requests for preliminary proceedings and/or fact-finding proceedings involving patents and technological innovations and industrial designs scheduled to be introduced at the Mobile World Congress, as well as trademark and intellectual property rights infringement, antitrust and unfair competition and unlawful advertising acts regarding products and materials to be exhibited or displayed at the Mobile World Congress.
2. Provide preferential and priority processing to urgent injunctive relief (with or without a hearing) involving patents and technological innovations and industrial designs scheduled to be introduced at the Mobile World Congress, as well as trademark and intellectual property rights infringement, antitrust and unfair competition and unlawful advertising acts regarding products and materials to be exhibited or displayed at the Mobile World Congress.
3. Commit to resolving requests for preliminary proceedings and/or fact-finding proceedings within two days (48 hours). And, within the same 48-hour period, requests for injunctive relief without hearing the defendant, as soon as they are filed with the court; and a maximum period of ten days to resolve injunctive relief with a hearing, as soon as they are filed with the court, provided that a preventive pleading has been filed.
4. Within the framework of a potential intellectual property dispute with another company and in the event of a reasonable fear of being subject to an injunctive relief without a hearing, resolve the admission of requests for protective letters on the same day they are filed (24 hours). The admission and immediate resolution of these requests is intended to avoid, as far as possible, the adoption of injunctive relief without hearing the defendant, which will make it possible, first, for the defendant to submit their arguments and, second, that they be available to appear before the Court immediately to decide on any request for injunctive relief without a hearing.
5. In order to assess the urgency referred to in art. 733 LEC in the adoption of injunctive relief without a hearing, unless this could jeopardize the success of the injunction, the prior behavior of the plaintiff and the speed with which they have reacted upon learning of the possible infringement will be decisive. In this sense, it will be important that the urgent injunctive relief request has been filed with such advance notice that in good faith it does not reasonably impede the hearing of the defendant, when the holder of the allegedly infringed right would have had prior knowledge of the possible infringement and could have filed their request with sufficient time.
6. Adopt, ex officio or at the request of a party, the specific measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of information that may constitute a trade secret and has been provided to a proceeding concerning the violation of trade secrets or to a different proceeding in which its consideration is necessary to decide on the merits. All within the framework of the new Law 1/2019 of 20 February 2019 on Trade Secrets and Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 and in accordance with the special Protocol for the Protection of Trade Secrets approved by this Barcelona Commercial Court for this purpose.
7. The Barcelona Commercial Court will immediately execute the injunctive relief and/or urgent proceedings which, within the scope of their specific competence, are ruled by the European Union Trademark Courts of Alicante in matters of European Union trademarks and Community designs, thus guaranteeing the effectiveness of the decisions adopted. For this purpose, the relevant communication and cooperation channels shall be established between both Courts.

At PONS IP we believe that in an industry as volatile as that of Telecommunications and Software, knowing the idiosyncrasies of these disciplines is a key factor in defining the strategy for clients. PONS IP has extensive experience in IP services related to these areas: technology startups, universities, research centers, uses of biometric technologies, cell phone networks, digital encryption, data transmission, mobile and computer applications.

From PONS IP we offer you our multidisciplinary team of technicians and lawyers for comprehensive advice during the activity prior to and during the celebration of the Mobile World Congress both for the analysis and presentation of protective letters as well as to submit injunctive relief and preliminary proceedings before the relevant courts in order to prevent a competing company from continuing to make its product available to the public when there is a well-founded and reliable suspicion that intellectual property rights of the legitimate owner are being infringed.