We are proud to report our successful defence for SOPHiA GENETICS of a PI application brought by Guardant Health Inc in the UPC Court of Appeal (2 July 2026; UPC_CoA_19/2026).

Four complex patents relating to liquid biopsy and cancer diagnostics technology in the rapidly developing field of data-driven medicine had been successfully defended against at first instance in the Paris Local Division, with one of these further defended on appeal.

Of particular note is the Court of Appeal’s findings on a lack of urgency, one of the key requirements in provisional measure proceedings. The Court of Appeal overturned this part of the first instance decision, and the decision provides important new guidance on when a patentee is deemed to have sufficient knowledge to seek provisional measures and the extent of the diligence expected once potential infringement comes to light. The decision is therefore likely to become an important reference point in future UPC proceedings for provisional measures.

The case required the team to combine sophisticated life sciences and biotech expertise with UPC strategy and advocacy across complex legal issues. These issues included claim interpretation, added matter, long arm jurisdiction, urgency, balance of interests, and costs.

The result highlights the depth of Bristows’ UPC team and reflects Bristows’ commitment to developing the next generation of UPC advocates, with a number of the team’s submissions presented by rising litigators from across the firm’s IP disputes group.

Liz Cohen, Naoise Gaffney, Rachael Cartwright, Eden Winlow and Florence Plisner argued the case for SOPHiA, assisted by Hannah Rigby, Fariha Chowdhury and Megan Lockie. Further support was provided by New York based Bochner PLLC.

We will be publishing a more detailed summary, and analysis, in due course. In the meantime, you can download the full judgment here.