Cheap can be Cheap – Appraising Damages When Suing for Patent Infringement

The plaintiff, Aventis Pharma S.A., had filed a lawsuit for patent infringement, and stated at that point that the amount claimed could not be determined. Consequently, as prescribed by Argentine law, the plaintiff paid only the minimum court fees.

When answering the claim, defendant filed a motion to dismiss based on the lack of determination of the amount claimed. The defendant argued that the plaintiff had enough information and data to specify the amount claimed and that, by not doing so, it had affected its rights of defense.

The lower Court rejected the defendant’s motion and the Court of Appeals confirmed this decision, based on the exception set forth in section 330 subsection 6 of the Argentine Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, which allows the plaintiff not to determine at the outset of the litigation process the specific amount claimed when it depends on the evidence to be produced during the process.

Therefore, in case of an alleged patent infringement, the plaintiff would be exempted from determining the exact amount claimed when it can only be seriously established once the evidence has been produced (for instance, having an expert accountant check the defendant’s books).

For more information, please contact:

		Iván A. Poli
		María Julia García Ruiz