Subject: inspection & evidence preservation at a trade fair stand (Art. 60 UPCA; RoP 192, 194, 196, 197, 199). Patent: EP 2 983 864 B1 (“surface finishing of workpieces”).
The Düsseldorf Local Division granted OTEC an ex parte order to inspect and secure evidence on STEROS’s “DLyte PRO500 Automated Cell” directly on the exhibitor’s stand at EMO Hannover 2025. The court was satisfied – on a plausible showing from public materials and earlier inspections of related DLyte machines – that the PRO500 may fulfil all features of claim 1, and that without on-site measurements, OTEC could not meaningfully substantiate infringement.
The order allows a court-appointed expert, assisted by a bailiff, to put the showcased machine into operation, request passwords from STEROS, disable the bowl vibration unit to avoid measurement artefacts, select or configure programs, and run and rerun measurements. A smartphone may be affixed to the workpiece holder to record rotational speeds and acceleration profiles – parameters of EP 864’s method claim. If on-stand inspection is impossible, the order authorises provisional seizure of one PRO500 unit and relevant technical/marketing documentation from the EMO stand, so the expert can perform the same protocol off-stand.
The LD Düsseldorf emphasised both urgency and the need to proceed without prior hearing. EMO runs only five days; the machine could be removed at short notice, and software updates could disable pre-set polishing routines—risks that would irretrievably compromise proof-gathering. The court also accepted OTEC’s practical barriers to a “test buy”: six-figure pricing, personalised industrial sales channels, and the near-impossibility of an anonymous procurement for a rival manufacturer.
Only one named lawyer and one named patent attorney for OTEC were allowed to attend; OTEC corporate personnel were excluded. The expert and bailiff owe strict secrecy to both parties and third parties, and the detailed technical description the expert must submit within two weeks goes first to the court. STEROS will be heard on trade-secret redactions before any disclosure to OTEC’s team, and the report may be used only in a subsequent main action against STEROS.
STEROS must cooperate, including granting access and inputting passwords; non-compliance is backed by coercive fines.
No security was ordered: unlike a preliminary injunction, inspection posed only a limited downside and any bond would risk frustrating a time-critical, short-fair inspection.
