Chambers & Partners Europe 2023 – Results

In preparation for the Alimentaria and Hostelco 2026 trade fairs, the Commercial Section of the Barcelona First Instance Court has approved a rapid response protocol to deal promptly with any potential conflicts relating to intellectual and industrial property rights (patents,trademarks, designs, and copyright), as well as trade secrets and unfair competition issues that may arise during these events.

During the transitional period of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, national courts retain jurisdiction to hear cases concerning classic European patents, without the need for the proprietor to have exercised the opt-out option, i.e. without the need to have excluded the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court over such patents. However, the Venice Court ruling discussed here considers that national courts may only be used if the opt-out has been exercised, contradicting the provisions of Article 83 of the Agreement.

Royal Legislative Decree 1/2015, of 24 July, approving the recast version of the Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (Guarantees and Rational Use) Act, prohibits healthcare professionals with prescribing powers from having a direct pecuniary interest in activities related to medicines. This prohibition does not extend to indirect interests, as distinguished in Article 4 of said legislative decree. Judgment no. 483/2025 of the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country concludes that mere membership of a group of companies does not entail incompatibility if each entity retains real autonomy.

This paper presents changes introduced by Act 9/2025 to promote decarbonisation in transport, including obligation for transport entities to calculate and report their carbon footprint, the drawing up of sustainable mobility plans in large centres of activity and companies, measures to electrify ports and promote renewable fuels, the deployment of charging points and the publishing of a national grid capacity map.

Act 10/2025 reforms the regime governing financial institutions’ customer services and introduces a procedure for the submission, processing and resolution of complaints filed by their customers, including special provisions when such customers are consumers, such as a free helpline and the availability of channels that allow for personalised service to vulnerable consumers or people without access to certain basic financial services that are not defined in the new law.

The Bolar clause allows studies and trials necessary to obtain marketing authorisations for medicinal products to be carried out without infringing patents. Its scope has grown during the passage of the pharmaceutical legislative package, incorporating more actors and more activities, to include participation in public tenders before the patent expires. This extension raises questions about compatibility with the TRIPS Agreement, which only allows limited exceptions to patent rights. Participation in tenders could be considered an offer to sell, thus violating the limits set by that agreement.

With regard to actions under the Building (Unified Regulation) Act, the Supreme Court reaffirms that there is no continuing damage, but rather permanent damage. The solution is more efficient for all parties, as well as fairer. Also cheaper for the judicial system.

Companies with more than 200 employees or 100 per shift must have a sustainable mobility plan as part of their collective bargaining, the aim of which is to rationalise journeys to the place where employees, customers, suppliers and visitors carry out their activities.

In Judgment 1505/2025, the Supreme Court analyses the use of the term 'Donut' by a competitor that markets ring-shaped pastry under another trade mark. Although previous instances considered the use to be merely descriptive, the Supreme Court rejects this on the grounds that it is a reputed trade mark, which triggers enhanced protection. This protection requires avoiding any unfair use of the prestige or distinctive character of the trade mark. The court concludes that the use made was not fair and may involve parasitism and dilution.