Solvay v. Honeywell, Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice of the European Union), 12 July 2012

The Court of Justice ruled that claims against different companies located in different Member States marketing the same product regarding infringement of a a European patent in one jurisdiction were so closely connected that they may be decided jointly to prevent irreconcilable judgments in the sense of Art. 6(1) EC 44/2001. In the present circumstances, a provisional judgment regarding the validity of a patent on the basis of Art. 31 EC 44/2001 is not prohibited by Art. 22(4) Regulation 44/2001, because it regards only a provisional finding.

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