The protocol on remote hearings of the eutm court No. 1 of Spain: a new step forward towards a more userfriendly European trade mark enforcement system
Blog BrandWrites

The Commercial Court No. 1 of Alicante (EUTM Court No. 1 of Spain, the “Court”) adopted a Protocol regarding Remote Hearings on 23 September 2022 which is yet to be published (the “Protocol” is in Spanish and English below). Remote hearings have become increasingly popular following recent reforms to Spanish procedural law. The aim of introducing remote hearings is to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of the EUTM enforcement regime. The Protocol states that certain types of court hearings related to the enforcement of EU trade marks and Community designs shall be held remotely and also sets out requirements for remote hearings to ensure they are legitimately held. Although the Protocol was adopted on 23 September 2022, it has not been published yet. The author of this article became aware of the existence and contents of the Protocol in the context of an ongoing EUTM litigation procedure. One of the purposes of this article is to publish the Protocol, for which the Court’s approval has been requested and granted. The Protocol will govern preliminary injunctions, oppositions to preliminary injunctions, case management conferences and other procedural meetings set up to gather supplementary evidence once a trial has been held. As a general rule, hearings will be held remotely and will last for approximately one hour 30 minutes. However, parties will be able to request an in-person hearing. There may be cases where there are reasonable grounds to hold an in-person hearing, such as a need for a longer hearing. Any documentation the parties submit will have to be done via the court’s digital docket. The opposing party will not be granted access to the documents until the date on which the hearing is to be held. Interestingly, the Protocol allows the possibility for parties to submit documents in English without needing to translate them into Spanish. The justification for this flexible approach is twofold. Firstly, the Protocol reminds parties that the EUTM Courts of Spain have international jurisdiction under Article 125(3) of the EUTM Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 and Article 82(3) of the Community Designs Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 to hear EUTM infringement and non-infringement actions. The Spanish EUTM Courts will be able to hear these actions if neither the plaintiff nor defendant is domiciled in the EU and they do not have an establishment in an EU territory. This is due to Spain being an EU member state where the Office has a seat. In other words, the EUTM Courts of Spain are the only courts which have international jurisdiction to hear infringement and noninfringement actions and the ability to grant or deny EU-wide injunctions in cases in which neither the EUTM holder nor the defendant have their domicile or residence in the EU. Click or tap here to enter text. Secondly, the Protocol is consistent with Spanish Supreme Court case law. Since 2008, the legal provisions of the Spanish Civil Procedural Law 2000 have been interpreted with a greater degree of flexibility, and the Protocol is another step forward in that direction To conclude, the Protocol highlights EUTM Spanish courts as attractive fora to hear European trade mark and design cases as they incur fewer costs and are efficient. Once it has been implemented, it is likely the Protocol will be welcomed by the stakeholders, lawyers, court agents and other professionals that are involved in the European trade mark enforcement system. I am convinced that lawyers specialising in trade mark and designs litigation will welcome the Protocol as a new tool enabling them to render their services more efficiently. Protocolo de vistas virtuales del Juzgado Mercantil núm. 1 de Alicante, de Marca de la Unión Europea de España. Procedural protocol for remote hearings of Commercial Court No. 1 of Alicante, European Union Trade Mark Court of Spain Considerando que el legislador español es favorable a la celebración virtual de las vistas siempre que ello no merme la integridad del juicio (véase la nueva Ley 16/2022, de 5 de septiembre, de reforma del texto refundido de la Ley Concursal, que introduce las vistas virtuales con carácter general en el procedimiento de microempresa) Whereas the Spanish lawmaker is in favour of holding remote hearings as long as this does not undermine the integrity of the trial (see the new Law 16/2022 of 5 September on the reform of the consolidated text of the Insolvency Act, which introduces remote hearings as a general rule in microenterprise proceedings) Considerando que los juzgados de Marca de la Unión Europea tienen competencia nacional e internacional y ello puede suponer costes importantes a las partes en orden a poder comparecer ante el mismo. Whereas the trade mark courts of the European Union have national and international jurisdiction and this may entail significant costs for the parties in order to be able to appear before them. Considerando que es necesario armonizar, por una parte, los derechos de las partes a una tutela judicial efectiva y, por otra, la capacidad del órgano judicial para poder organizar la agenda y agilizar en la medida de lo posible los señalamientos judiciales. Whereas it is necessary to harmonise, on the one hand, the rights of the parties to effective judicial protection and, on the other hand, the ability of the judiciary to organise the agenda and to speed up court dates as far as possible. Considerando que el acortamiento de los plazos procesales revierte en interés directo de todas las partes, de los profesionales y de la propia industria, puesto que ello generará resoluciones en plazos más breves. Whereas the shortening of procedural deadlines is in the direct interest of all parties, professionals and the industry itself, as it will lead to quicker decisions. Protocolo Protocol Click or tap here to enter text. Desarrollo de las vistas virtuales. Development of remote hearings Con carácter general se realizarán por medios telemáticos sin necesidad de que las partes comparezcan físicamente en la sede del tribunal aquellas actuaciones cuya duración se presuma que no excederá de 1 hora y 30 minutos. As a general rule, proceedings whose duration is presumed not to exceed 1 hour and 30 minutes shall be conducted by telematic means without the need for the parties to appear physically at the seat of the court. Por defecto, se tramitarán de forma telemática las siguientes actuaciones: Vistas de medidas cautelares o vistas de oposición a las medidas cautelares; audiencias previas; diligencias finales; cualesquiera otras actuaciones que se lleven a cabo por los trámites del juicio verbal. By default, the following actions will be processed remotely: Hearings on preliminary injunctions or hearings in opposition to preliminary injunctions; case management conferences; procedural acts intended to gather supplementary evidence after trial; any other procedural acts carried out through oral proceedings. Las partes podrán en el plazo de 10 días: The parties may within 10 days: Solicitar la celebración presencial de la vista, en cuyo caso deberán exponer las razones por las que consideran que la vista presencial es necesaria. Request that the hearing be held in person, in which case they should state the reasons why they consider that a hearing in person is necessary. Solicitar que se le otorgue una duración mayor a la vista, en cuyo caso deberá exponer las razones por la que se considera que dicha duración será necesaria. Request that it be granted a longer duration than the duration of the hearing, in which case it shall state the reasons why it is considered that such a duration will be necessary. El carácter telemático se aplicará a todas las partes independientemente del lugar de residencia. The remote nature shall apply to all parties irrespective of their place of residence. En su comparecencia los profesionales deberán atenerse a lo dispuesto en el Acuerdo de 23 de noviembre de 2005, del Pleno del Consejo General del Poder Judicial, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento 2/2005, de honores, tratamientos y protocolo en los actos judiciales solemnes. In their appearance, professionals must abide by the provisions of the Agreement of 23 November 2005, of the Plenary of the General Council of the Judiciary, which approves Regulation 2/2005, on honour, treatment and protocol in solemn judicial acts. Sin perjuicio de que por la antigüedad del citado Reglamento, no se prevé el desarrollo de las vistas telemáticas, se requiere que la comparecencia de profesionales e intervinientes se lleve a cabo desde lugares habilitados especialmente para la celebración de videoconferencias. En este sentido, la comparecencia deberá llevarse a cabo desde un Without prejudice to the fact that, due to the antiquity of the aforementioned Regulation, the development of remote hearings is not foreseen, it is required that the appearance of professionals and intervening parties be carried out from places specially enabled for the holding of videoconferences. In this sense, the appearance Click or tap here to enter text. lugar que reúna las condiciones de privacidad necesarias para poder llevar a cabo el acto procesal. Por tanto, no se admitirán comparecencias desde lugares públicos o salas comunes en las que exista tránsito de personas. must take place from a place that meets the necessary conditions of privacy to be able to carry out the procedural act. Therefore, appearances will not be admitted from public places or common rooms in which there is transit of people. De la misma manera, los profesionales deberán adoptar las medidas que sean necesarias para garantizar el normal desarrollo de la vista. De esta forma, deberán evitar ser interrumpidos durante la celebración del acto procesal por cualquier persona. In the same way, professionals must take the necessary measures to guarantee the normal course of the hearing. In this way, they must avoid being interrupted during the proceedings by any person. En las comparecencias telemáticas no será exigible el uso de toga, pero los profesionales deberán atenerse a los dispuesto en el artículo 33 del Reglamento 2/2005, de honores, tratamientos y protocolo en los actos judiciales solemnes. In remote hearings, the use of robes will not be required, but professionals must comply with the provisions of Article 33 of Regulation 2/2005, on honour, treatment and protocol in solemn judicial acts. Los profesionales deberán facilitar al juzgado los siguientes datos: Professionals must provide the court with the following information: Nombre y apellidos del letrado interviniente y del procurador, así como número de colegiado. Name and surname of the intervening lawyer and of the court attorney, as well as the license number. Teléfono de contacto Contact telephone number Correo electrónico de contacto Contact e-mail address Todo profesional deberá estar disponible al menos 20 minutos antes de la hora fijada para la comparecencia por si fuera necesario contactar con el mismo por razones técnicas. All professionals must be available at least 20 minutes before the scheduled time of appearance in case it is necessary to contact them for technical reasons. Aportación documental. Submission of documents Dada la imposibilidad de traslado físico en el caso de comparecencias telemáticas, las partes deberán aportar al proceso con al menos 5 días de antelación a la celebración de la vista la documental que deseen aportar al tiempo de su celebración, asegurándose de su recepción por parte del Juzgado. Dicha documental no será trasladada a la parte contraria. Given the impossibility of physical transfer in the case of remote hearings, the parties must submit to the proceedings at least 5 days before the hearing the documents they wish to bring at the time of the hearing, ensuring that they are received by the Court. Said documents will not be transferred to the opposing party. Click or tap here to enter text. Las partes deberán, asimismo, garantizar que se han dado traslado de la documental presentada con al menos una hora de antelación a la hora prevista para la celebración de la vista de forma que la parte contraria pueda tener en su poder dichos documentos al tiempo de la celebración de la misma. The parties must also ensure that the documents submitted have been served at least one hour before the scheduled time of the hearing so that the opposing party can have them in his possession at the time of the hearing. De la lengua de los documentos aportados por las partes. Interpretación del artículo 144 LEC en relación con los procedimientos de Marca de la Unión Europea y Diseños Comunitarios en los que exista algún elemento de internacionalidad. On the language of the documents submitted by the parties. Interpretation of Article 144 LEC in relation to EU Trade Mark and Community Design proceedings where the case has an International element. La experiencia demuestra que en los procedimientos de Marca de la Unión Europea y Diseños comunitarios, las partes, en sus relaciones extraprocesales se suelen comunicar en lengua inglesa. En este sentido, es necesario tener en cuenta la peculiaridad competencial del presente Juzgado de Marca de la Unión Europea, con especial competencia internacional al amparo del artículo 125.3 del Reglamento (UE) 2017/1001 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 14 de junio de 2017, sobre la marca de la Unión Europeay artículo 82.3 del Reglamento (CE) n° 6/2002 del Consejo, de 12 de diciembre de 2001, sobre los dibujos y modelos comunitarios, Experience shows that in European Union Trade Mark and Community Design proceedings, the parties, in their extraprocedural relations, usually communicate in English. In this regard, it is necessary to take into account the special jurisdiction of this European Union Trade Mark Court, with special international jurisdiction under Article 125(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union Trade Mark and Article 82.3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community Designs, Por ello, sin perjuicio de lo dispuesto en el artículo 144 de la Ley 1/2000, de 7 de enero, y de conformidad con la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Supremo (entre otras, STS, Civil sección 1 del 31 de marzo de 2022 -ROJ: STS 1244/2022 - ECLI:ES:TS:2022:1244 o la más reciente STS, Civil sección 1 del 24 de marzo de 2008 (ROJ: STS 4145/2008 - ECLI:ES:TS:2008:4145), no se entenderá que se causa indefensión a las partes en el caso de que existan motivos razonables para pensar que las partes conocen perfectamente el inglés (por ejemplo, porque las relaciones entre las mismas se han desarrollado en esta lengua). Dicha presunción podrá basarse en el hecho de que existe algún elemento de internacionalidad o en que las relaciones extraprocesales entre las mismas se han desarrollado en esta lengua. Todo Therefore, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 144 of Law 1/2000, of 7 January, and in accordance with the case law of the Supreme Court (among others, STS, Civil section 1 of 31 March 2022 -ROJ: STS 1244/2022 - ECLI:ES:TS:2022:1244 or the more recent STS, Civil section 1 of 24 March 2008 (ROJ: STS 4145/2008 - ECLI:ES:TS:2008:4145), it will not be understood that the parties’ right of defense has been breached if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the parties know English perfectly well (for example, because the relations between them have developed in this language). Such a presumption may be based on the fact that the case has an International dimension or that the extraprocedural relations between the parties have been conducted in English. This is without Click or tap here to enter text. ello sin perjuicio de su traducción y aportación posterior. prejudice to its translation and subsequent submission. En este sentido, se considera una buena práctica procesal, a los efectos de los procedimientos de Marca de la Unión Europea y Diseños Comunitarios, la aportación de los documentos cuya lengua original sea el inglés en tal lengua, sin perjuicio de su posible traducción posterior. In this regard, it is considered good procedural practice, for the purposes of European Union Trade Mark and Community Design proceedings, to provide documents whose original language is English in that language, without prejudice to their possible subsequent translation. Agilidad de los actos orales. Agility of oral proceedings. Con el fin de agilizar el desarrollo de las vistas telemáticas, se admitirá que se aporte como documental escrito la cita de la jurisprudencia nacional, europea e internacional que sustente su posición en relación con cada uno de los argumentos esgrimidos. Dicho documento no podrá contener ninguna exposición de hechos y se limitará única y exclusivamente a jurisprudencia que se considere aplicable, pudiendo ser impugnado por dicho motivo. In order to speed up the development of remote hearings, it will be admitted that the citation of the national, European and International case law that supports its position in relation to each of the arguments put forward may be submitted as a written document. This document may not contain any statement of facts and shall be limited solely and exclusively to the case law considered applicable, and may be challenged on this ground. Documentación Documentation Sin perjuicio de la presentación a través de Lexnet, para el correcto seguimiento de la vista, las partes deberán proveer una copia de la demanda/contestación y de la documentación presentada en CD. Without prejudice to the presentation through Lexnet, for the correct monitoring of the hearing, the parties must provide a copy of the statement of claim/brief f reply to the claim and the exhibits submitted in a CD. No se presentará documentación en papel. No documentation shall be submitted on paper. Sin perjuicio de lo anterior, cuando la parte considere que la naturaleza del documento, la información contenida en el mismo, su presentación o el formato empleado (formatos diferentes a DIN A4) aconsejen su lectura en papel físico, podrán aportar una copia en papel para el seguimiento de la vista al Juzgado. Excepcionalmente, el Juez podrá solicitar a la parte que se aporte en papel aquellos documentos que considere necesarios para el buen desarrollo de la vista. Notwithstanding the above, when the party considers that the nature of the document, the information contained therein, its presentation or the format used (formats other than DIN A4) make it advisable to read it on paper, a paper copy may be provided to the Court for the purpose of monitoring the hearing. Exceptionally, the Judge may request the party to provide on paper those documents that he considers necessary for the proper conduct of the hearing. Click or tap here to enter text. En ningún caso se requerirá a la parte la aportación de todo el pliego de documental. In no case shall the party be required to submit the entire set of documents. Comparecencia de peritos y testigos Appearance of experts and witnesses Con carácter general, la comparecencia de partes, peritos y testigos se llevará a cabo en forma presencial, especialmente en el caso de vistas de juicio ordinario. As a general rule, the appearance of parties, experts and witnesses shall take place in person, especially in the case of ordinary trial hearings. No obstante lo anterior, se valorará la oportunidad de su intervención por medios telemáticos cuando las circunstancias del caso lo aconsejen. Por ejemplo, en el caso de juicios verbales de duración breve, cuando los testigos residan en otros Estados miembros de la Unión Europea o en el extranjero, cuando se trate de intervenciones presumiblemente breves, o cuando se trate de medidas cautelares u otros actos que por su carácter o naturaleza aconsejen evitar el desplazamiento hasta la sede de los juzgados de Marca de la Unión Europea. Notwithstanding the above, the appropriateness of their intervention by telematic means shall be assessed when the circumstances of the case make it appropriate. For example, in the case of oral trials of short duration, when the witnesses reside in other Member States of the European Union or abroad, in the case of presumably brief interventions, or in the case of precautionary measures or other acts which by their nature or character make it advisable to avoid travelling to the seat of the European Union Trade Mark Courts. En el caso de comparecencia telemática, las partes deberán garantizar que el testigo comparece en un lugar acondicionado para garantizar la privacidad de la declaración debiendo el testigo encontrarse aislado sin presencia de ninguna otra persona durante su declaración judicial. In the case of a remote hearing, the parties shall ensure that the witness appears in a place adapted to guarantee the privacy of the testimony and that the witness is isolated without the presence of any other person during his or her judicial testimony. No se admitirá la declaración telemática cuando ello pueda comprometer la integridad de las declaraciones o en el caso de que, por el número de testigos y su necesaria incomunicación, se aconseje la celebración en la sede judicial. Remote testimony will not be admitted when this could compromise the integrity of the statements or when, due to the number of witnesses and the need for them to be held isolated from each other, it is advisable to hold the hearing at the court's headquarters. En el caso de que se detecte que el testigo o perito no se encuentra en zona aislada, se podrá acordar el fin de la declaración y apreciar mala fe en la conducta de la parte proponente. In the event that the witness or expert is found not to be in an isolated area, the termination of the testimony may be agreed and bad faith in the conduct of the proposing party may be assessed.