SPIDER IN THE WEB

Spider in the Web doctrine is a legal doctrine observed in Dutch Patent Law which is responsible for interstates injunctions in patent infringement cases. The doctrine would only be applicable in Dutch Courts when the main defendant ('spider') is located in the Netherlands and the other defendants’ part of a group (‘web’) of companies and acted in accordance to a common business policy of the group, even though the disputed patent was issued in a different nation.

However, the European Court of Justice casts some doubts on the Competency of Dutch Courts to pass jurisdiction of matters concerning patents where they were issued in a different country. Hence, the ECJ preferring jurisdiction to countries where the patent was originally granted. Therefore, there are some doubts regarding the continuity of this doctrine.