Seizure and inspection measures: costs drivers
A request for seizure or inspection measures moves fast once it is filed, and the cost that follows tracks scope rather than drama. The main drivers are the number of premises to be inspected, the number of jurisdictions involved, whether the other side is heard before the order is granted, and the volume of technical or digital material that has to be reviewed on site. Each of these factors adds preparation time before anyone sets foot on the premises, and each is visible in the file before the order is even filed.
What drives the cost
Seizure and inspection measures exist to freeze evidence before it disappears: stock, machinery, source code, production logs, internal correspondence. The order authorises an independent officer, sometimes accompanied by a technical expert, to enter, describe, photograph, copy or physically remove items that are listed in advance. Nothing outside that list can be taken, which is why the drafting of the list itself is where most of the preparation time goes.
Cost rises with the factors below. It does not rise with how serious the underlying infringement looks, and a strong case with a narrow, well-drafted item list is cheaper to execute than a weak case with a broad one.
| Factor | Effect on preparation and cost |
|---|---|
| Number of premises | Each additional site needs its own inventory, its own officer, and its own report |
| Number of jurisdictions | Parallel filings and parallel officers replace a single coordinated request |
| Prior notice to the other side | An order granted without notice needs a tighter, better-evidenced application than one granted with notice |
| Technical complexity of the material | Software, formulas or production processes usually require an independent expert on site |
| Volume of digital material | Mirrored drives and mail servers take longer to copy on the day and longer to review afterwards |
| Language of the premises | An officer or expert working in an unfamiliar language adds translation and review time |
| Follow-up litigation window | A seizure not followed by a main claim within the set window loses its effect and the cost with it |
What to do
- Identify precisely what must be preserved: an item list, not a description of the whole dispute.
- Gather the evidence that supports urgency and the risk that the material will disappear or be altered.
- File the application with the forum that has jurisdiction over the premises where the material sits.
- Prepare a brief for the technical expert if the material is software, a process or a formula, so the expert knows exactly what to look for on the day.
- Arrange retention of the resulting report, the extracts and the copy taken on site; we keep our own copy under a fixed schedule, see Retention: the report, the extracts and our copy in practice.
- File or confirm the main infringement claim before the deadline the order sets, since a missed deadline can void the whole measure.
Who decides
The forum with jurisdiction over the premises grants the order, usually on a without-notice basis when delay would let the evidence disappear. A national patent court, or, for a unitary patent, the Unified Patent Court, hears the request, appoints the officer, and fixes the deadline for the follow-up claim. Where premises sit in more than one country, each forum decides for its own territory, and the timeline is not shared between them.
Once the measure is executed, the party affected usually has a set window to challenge the order or ask for it to be lifted. That challenge is heard by the same forum that granted the order, and it runs on its own clock, separate from the deadline for the main claim.
If your situation differs
- If the material found at the premises includes a data set assembled by short-term or intern staff, ownership of that material may itself need clarifying before it can be used as evidence at all; see When a data set was assembled by an intern.
- If the right at stake is recorded as a token rather than as a registered filing, the description of what is being seized has to follow that record rather than a filing number; see Mapping a right to a token in detail.
- If the other side operates from several premises in different countries, expect separate applications rather than one order with cross-border reach, and expect the timelines to differ between them.
- If the order is granted without notice, expect the other side's first substantive reaction to arrive only after execution, in the form of a challenge rather than a response to the filing.
What this page does not cover
This page describes the procedure, not the underlying claim. It does not assess whether infringement is likely, and it does not value the material once seized. Those questions sit with the main claim, not with the preservation step described here. Where the party subject to the order is a company whose financial standing matters to the decision whether to proceed at all, a counterparty report can add useful context before the application is filed; see Counterparty in Austria in detail.
Verified
Verified: 4 March 2025. This overview reflects our internal handling of seizure and inspection files across the jurisdictions we cover. It does not replace advice on a live matter, where the choice of premises, timing and forum changes what is realistic to ask for.
Related reading
Cost drivers in a related patent procedure follow a similar pattern of scope over drama; see Claim construction step by step.
Frequently asked questions
How long do seizure and inspection measures take in practice?
A without-notice order can be granted within days once the application and the item list are complete. The on-site inspection itself usually takes a single day per premises. The report, the copies and the review that follows extend over the weeks after execution.
Which documents are needed to start?
An item list describing precisely what is to be preserved, evidence supporting urgency, proof of the underlying right, and, where the material is technical, a brief for the expert who will accompany the officer on the day.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
Silence does not stop the procedure. The officer proceeds under the order as granted, and the absence of a response is recorded in the report rather than treated as agreement, objection, or acceptance of what is found.
Next step
Two related situations often surface once material has been seized and reviewed. If a competitor is accused of registering in bad faith, see When a competitor claims bad faith: what to do. If the dispute instead concerns a domain that mirrors your brand, see When a domain mirrors your brand: what it costs.