Gómez-Acebo & Pombo nominated for The Lawyer European Awards

In a decision dated 18 July 2025, the Mannheim Division of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court took jurisdiction to hear a claim filed against three companies domiciled in Germany for infringement of a classic European patent with effect in Germany and the United Kingdom. The court's jurisdiction to hear the infringement of the UK national part of European patents is not affected by the fact that the validity of the patent is disputed by the defendants. However, this conclusion does not apply to Spanish national parts of European patents.

This article analyses situations which, although they do not involve the transfer of property ownership, are legally treated as equivalent to a sale and are subject to Transfer Tax in Portugal.

There is no doubt that the registered name of a plant variety may be used by anyone who markets plant material of that variety. However, in this specific case, the Supreme Court's statement that “the term ‘Persimmon’ was used by the defendant to identify a specific variety of caqui” is noteworthy.

Summary of legislative and jurisprudential developments relating to the automotive sector.

In its judgment of 19 June 2025 (European Commission v Republic of Poland, C‑200/24, ECLI:EU:C:2025:459), the Court of Justice has held that the introduction by national legislation of a total prohibition on advertising for pharmacies infringes European Union law.

It is unclear whether this doctrine will endure, but the Supreme Court has ruled that a joint and several co-debtor who pays has a right of recourse for the amount paid, even if the joint and several liability arose from an illegal contract.

The entry into force of the 2019 Hague Convention paves the way for cooperation between Spain and the UK regarding the enforceability in each other's territory of judgments handed down in the other State.

The judgment of the Regional High Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Cologne of 23 May 2025 (15 UKl 2/25), in which the German court rejects the application for interim relief prohibiting the defendant from processing personal data published by consumers on Facebook and Instagram for the development and improvement of artificial intelligence systems, is analysed.

The Proposal for a Directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law regulates pre-packs and, in doing so, raises some questions about the functioning of private international law rules in relation to them.