UPC Local Division: Interpretation, Validity

The patent in suit concerns an invention in the field of communication systems and relates, in particular, to high-frequency transmitters used in such systems. The purpose of the patent in suit is to provide a programmable hybrid transmitter that combines the advantages of cartesian-based transmitters and polar-coordinate-based transmitters known from the prior art while avoiding the respective disadvantages associated with each. The protected teaching pertains to the inventive processing of complex signals in the baseband processing module, where the complex signal is split into two orthogonal signal components, each processed separately in distinct paths, then recombined at the output of the up-conversion module by summing to form a single signal, which is then fed to the power amplifier circuit to generate the outgoing high-frequency signal. In the Court’s view, Figures 3, 6, 8, and 10 of Document D3—which is prior art under Article 54(3) EPC (relevant here under the Unitary Patent system)—collectively form a single disclosure. Figure 3’s block diagram shows a claimed programmable hybrid transmitter with a baseband processing module, an up-conversion module, and a power amplifier circuit at the highest level of abstraction. Figure 10 discloses the detailed design of the programmable hybrid transmitter that supports both claimed modes. The claimed configuration of the programmable hybrid transmitter in the first mode is shown in Figure 8, and Figure 6 shows the claimed configuration of the programmable hybrid transmitter in the second mode. Due to the invalidity of the patent in suit, the infringement claim already lacks a basis. It can therefore remain undecided whether the patent in suit, even if valid, would have been infringed (Local Division Munich, 30 August 2024, Court of First Instance 52/2023).