No automatic service via lawyers to Chinese defendant in MED-EL case

So far, everything has gone well for MED-EL and its new counsel Hogan Lovells. MED-EL had obtained an ex-parte PI against its Chinese competitor Zhejiang Nurotron Biotechnology on 11 June. Both companies manufacture cochlear implants. Austria-based MED-EL is considered a European market leader in this segment.

The local division Hamburg prohibited Nurotron from presenting its competing product with the trade name CS-30A during trade shows in the territory of the UPCA contracting member states, particularly during the ESPCI 2025. The Chinese company is not yet selling its cochlear implants in Europe because they lack the approval.

In the course of the proceedings, Adrián Crespo Velasco from Clifford Chance‘s Barcelona office took over the representation of Nurotron — but only in the PI case.

The ex-parte PI is now effective, but Nurotron applied to the local division Hamburg to review the ruling. The local division under presiding judge Sabine Klepsch will hear this in mid-September.

Nurotron yet to hire counsel in main proceedings

However, in the subsequent main infringement claim, Clifford Chance has so far refused to accept service on the Chinese parent company. MED-EL filed the main action with the UPC on 28 July. MED-EL accuses not only the Chinese Zhejiang Nurotron Biotechnology but also its European subsidiary Nurotron Global SAR of infringing its EP 4 074 373. EP 373 protects an MRI-safe disc magnet for implants.

In the meantime, Clifford Chance has registered its representation of the European subsidiary, but the Chinese parent company has not yet appointed a law firm in the main proceedings.

Presumably to speed up service in China, MED-EL requested that the main action be served on the representative in the PI case. However, judge rapporteur Stefan Johansson has now rejected this in an order published today (case ID: UPC_CFI_688/2025).

The judgment states: “The request for service on the representative in the proceedings on provisional measures is dismissed. Instead, service shall be done in accordance with the Hague Service Convention.” In other words, the main action may still not be served on Clifford Chance, even though it would be surprising if the law firm did not also take over the representation of Zhejiang Nurotron Biotechnology.

Instead, MED-EL will have to serve the lawsuit via the traditional route to China, which can take a long time. In the case of the European Nurotron company, the lawsuit is deemed to have been served.

Well-tested patent

Zhejiang Nurotron Biotechnology will have to decide by November at the latest, when the deadline for the statement of defence expires, whether it will also rely on Clifford Chance lawyer Adrián Crespo and his team in the main action. Judge Stefan Schilling will hear the case alongside Klepsch and Johansson.

MED-EL can lodge an appeal against today’s order. However, it is questionable whether the company wants to spark a fundamental dispute over the issue of service.

MED-EL has already successfully filed a UPC lawsuit based on EP 373 against Advanced Bionics. The patent was initially confirmed by the EPO in opposition proceedings.

At the UPC, MED-EL claimed Advanced Bionics’ HiRes Ultra 3D Cochlear Implants infringed the patent. In December 2024, the Paris central division rejected Advanced Bionics’ counterclaim for revocation and upheld the patent in amended form (case ID: UPC_CFI_338 /2023 and UPC_CFI_410/2023).

The final event in the global dispute between MED-EL and Advanced Bionics was the infringement proceedings concerning EP 373 at the local division Mannheim. The court had heard MED-EL’s action for alleged infringement of EP 373 at the beginning of April and originally scheduled the judgment for 8 May (case ID: UPC_CFI_410/2023). But the judgment never came. The companies asked the court to postpone the ruling and then settled their dispute beforehand.

Hogan Lovells first time for MED-EL

At that time, Boehmert & Boehmert was MED-EL’s main UPC representative. The firm’s patent attorneys had also filed EP 373 at the EPO.

In the dispute with Nurotron Hogan Lovells is now representing MED-EL for the first time. German partners Anna-Katharina Friese-Okoro and Andreas von Falck have the lead. At the current stage no patent attorneys are involved.

Interestingly, Hogan Lovells was part of the team representing Advanced Bionics against MED-EL. In the Dutch proceedings Gertjan Kuipers led the case. He began working on the instruction during his time at De Brauw before moving to Hogan Lovells in 2022.