When the claim covers only part of the range: what to do first
When a granted claim covers only part of a disclosed range, the first task is not litigation strategy. It is establishing exactly which values the claim protects, which values the disputed product uses, and whether the gap between them is real or an artefact of measurement. Confirm the numbers before anything else.
Which regime applies
The forum for a range dispute depends on the type of patent, not on the size of the gap. A European patent with unitary effect falls under When a competitor files a patent application next to the scope set by Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012, and disputes over it go to the forum created by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. A classical bundle patent stays with the national court of the country where the disputed product is sold, under that country's own infringement rules.
| Situation | Governing instrument | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Patent has unitary effect | Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 | Scope of the unitary protection itself |
| Dispute over that unitary patent | Agreement on a Unified Patent Court | Which court hears the range dispute |
| Translation of the granted claim | Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012 | Which language version is authoritative |
| Disputed goods cross an EU border | Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 | Whether customs can hold the shipment |
What changes in practice
A claim that covers only part of a range does not fail on its own. It simply narrows what counts as infringement. If the disputed product sits inside the claimed sub-range, the claim holds. If it sits outside, the case rests on national doctrines the granted wording does not itself supply. Either way, the exact figures decide the outcome, not the general description in the specification.
What to do first
- Pull the granted claim and line it up against the range described in the specification, word for word.
- Record the exact figures used by the disputed product, and note how each figure was measured.
- Check the prosecution file for any narrowing made during examination to overcome cited prior art.
- Identify the regime: unitary patent or national bundle, since the forum and the applicable rules differ.
- If the disputed goods are moving across an EU border, consider an application under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 before the shipment clears.
- Instruct counsel to confirm the applicable limitation period before any filing is drafted.
Who decides, and where
For a unitary patent, the forum is the court established under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, and translation questions follow Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012. For a classical bundle patent, the national court where the disputed product is sold applies its own procedure and its own limitation rules. Neither forum accepts a claim built on estimated figures; both expect measured values with a documented method.
If your situation differs
If the disputed values sit entirely outside the claimed range, the granted wording alone does not reach the product. Whether an equivalents argument is available depends on the applicable national doctrine, and that assessment has to happen before any filing, not after.
If the parameter in dispute was set by a freelance engineer who signed no written assignment, ownership of the underlying test data can be disputed before infringement is even reached. See When freelancers signed nothing and its limits for how that gap is usually closed.
If royalties tied to the same range were encoded into a smart contract and the payment trigger never fired because the reported value fell outside the coded band, that is a separate dispute with its own remedy. See When royalties encoded on-chain are ignored explained.
What this page does not cover
This page does not set a measurement methodology, does not calculate damages, and does not decide validity. Where the dispute involves a counterparty abroad and the open question is what can be established about that party at all, that sits with a separate service layer: Counterparty in Cyprus explained.
Related publications
The situation described here often surfaces alongside a neighbouring filing dispute; see When a competitor files a patent application next to for that adjacent scenario.
Verified
Checked against Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012, Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012, and the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, current as of the review date shown in the site footer. For the scope of what this practice covers and where it stops, see About the firm and its scope explained.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first step when the claim covers only part of the range?
Compare the granted claim wording against the specification's full range, and record the exact disputed figures with their measurement method. Nothing else follows until those two sets of numbers are fixed.
Which deadline is already running?
A limitation period applies from the point the infringement was, or should reasonably have been, discovered. Its length depends on the forum: the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court for a unitary patent, national law for a bundle patent. Confirm which regime applies before assuming either clock.
Who decides, and on what evidence?
For a unitary patent, the court under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court decides on measured values and the prosecution history. For a bundle patent, the national court where the product is sold decides on the same categories of evidence under its own procedure.