Summary
As a result of the referral made in Article 3(2) of Law No 218/1995 to the Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968 and subsequent amendments, Italian courts do not have jurisdiction, under Art. 22(4) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, over an action for a negative declaratory judgment of counterfeiting of the non-Italian parts of a European patent lodged by an Italian company against an Israeli company, proprietor of that patent, since such action requires also an interim action to be lodged for the assessment of the invalidity of the non-Italian parts of the European patent, which is reserved, under Article 22(4) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of each State in which the deposit or registration of the single parts of the European patent has been applied for, has taken place or is under the terms of an EU instrument or an international convention deemed to have taken place. Nor Italian courts have jurisdiction over such claim under Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, as the interim action for the assessment of the invalidity of the foreign parts of the European patent falls outside the scope of that provision.