“BMW’s Fight over U.S. Patents in Germany Previews Battles to Come”

In an article published by Bloomberg Law, Marshall Gerstein Partner Ryan Schermerhorn and associate Matt Nealon offer insights into a landmark 2025 ruling out of the European Union’s Court of Justice that could reshape the traditional territorial limits of patent adjudication. The decision in BSH Hausgeräte GmbH v. Electrolux AB signals a potential shift in how courts address cross-border patent disputes. The ruling’s implications are being tested in a dispute between Onesta IP and luxury automaker BMW, and a Texas federal judge recently took the unusual step of blocking a German court from deciding issues tied to a U.S. patent. 

“On Feb. 13, Judge Alan Albright of the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Texas condemned the logic of the Munich maneuver, finding that allowing the proceedings to continue in Germany would ‘eviscerate’ the U.S. statutory scheme and deprive BMW of constitutional rights available only in the U.S.—specifically, a jury trial,” Ryan and Matt write. “By firmly rejecting the ‘vexatious or oppressive’ conduct of litigating U.S. rights abroad, Albright’s order reinforces the same principle—reciprocal restraint: We don’t touch your patents, and you don’t touch ours.”

Alongside the USPTO’s creation of a new SEP working group, the injunction signals a renewed push to ensure U.S. patent policy is set and enforced domestically. In their article, Ryan and Matt offer guidance to both implementers and patent owners for global drafting.

“For now, the era of siloed litigation is over,” they note. “Pending further developments, every cross-border patent dispute may carry global consequences.”

Read the full article in Bloomberg Law here.