MWC 2022 will take place in just two weeks, from February 28 to March 3, in Barcelona.
This will undoubtedly be an important year for the trade show, which—following the unexpected cancellation of MWC 2020 due to the pandemic and the “hybrid” (in-person/digital) format of the next edition of the conference in 2021—is returning to a primarily in-person format at the Fira de Barcelona venue.
Since there have been no significant withdrawals among the participating companies, this year’s event is expected to return to (or at least come close to) the level of activity and impact that this major conference had in the years leading up to the pandemic.
It is likely that this “return” to the MWC as we knew it will also bring with it a resurgence of legal disputes between companies regarding potential infringements of industrial property rights (which saw a notable decline last year, undoubtedly due to the significant absence of conference participants and the “watered-down” format in which it was held). In anticipation of these disputes, and as it has been doing for years, the Commercial Court of Barcelona (together with the EU Trademark Court in Alicante) has approved a“Protocol for On-Call Service and Rapid Response”to ensure that requests for injunctions and preliminary proceedings regarding infringements of industrial property rights in the context of the conference are processed expeditiously. Thus, among other things, the Court has made the following key commitments:
- Resolve, on the same day they are filed (within 24 hours), requests forpreliminary ordersintended to prevent the issuance of injunctions without a hearing for the defendant company.
- And to rule within two days (48 hours)on requests forpreliminary proceedings, fact-finding proceedings, and injunctive relief(in the latter case, provided that the request does not require a hearing with the defendant and the defendant has not filed a preliminary brief; in such a case, a hearing would be scheduled within 10 days).
ELZABURU has accompanied its clients to recent editions of MWC and has extensive experience in handling legal disputes arising during the event (in fact, for example, of the 18 cases filed in court during the 2021 MWC, 15 were handled by ELZABURU).
Once again this year, the Firm stands ready to advise, assist, and defend its clients in connection with any disputes that may arise in the context of MWC 2022 regarding the infringement of industrial property rights.