Section 139 of the German Patent Act deals with the most important consequences of a finding of patent infringement, including injunctive relief. In the 2021 revision of the German Patent Act, section 139 was revised. Revised section 139(1) s. 3, 4 now specifies that there can be circumstances in which patentee is not entitled to injunctive relief. There was (and still is) some uncertainty as to how much of a change this amendment means as compared to the previous version which did not include these exceptional provisions.
A recent decision of the Regional Court Düsseldorf provides guidance on section 139 of the German Patent Act as revised in 2021. In the decision LG Düsseldorf of July 7, 2022, 4c O 18/21 – Sofosbuvir, the Regional Court Düsseldorf held that section 139(1) s. 3 is applicable only in very exceptional circumstances and only subsidiarily to compulsory license proceedings. Thus, based on this decision, it appears that injunctive relief is still available in all those cases in which the infringing party has not initiated compulsory license proceedings.