When a supplier is accused of infringing a third party: what it costs to be wrong
When your supplier is accused of infringing a third party's patent, the exposure does not stay with the supplier. Customs authorities can detain the goods you distribute, and the rights holder can name you alongside the supplier. Being wrong about the supplier's position costs disrupted deliveries, indemnity disputes, and a parallel case you did not start.
The legal basis
Two separate mechanisms can activate once a third party raises a patent claim against your supplier.
Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 lets the rights holder ask customs authorities to detain goods suspected of infringing a patent, at any external border of the EU, in force since 2014. The detention applies to the goods, not to a party's guilt, and it can happen before any court rules on infringement.
If the patent at issue is a European patent with unitary effect, the dispute is heard by the Unified Patent Court, established under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, in force since June 2023. The scope of that protection follows Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012, and the translation arrangements that apply to the patent follow Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012.
What changes for you
A customs detention stops the shipment at the border, sometimes for weeks, while the rights holder and the declarant argue over the goods. A Unified Patent Court claim runs on its own timetable, in one forum, with a decision that reaches every state where the patent has unitary effect. If your contract with the supplier does not address this scenario, you carry the delay and the legal cost until it says otherwise.
What to do, in order
- Pull the supply contract and check for an indemnity clause covering third-party IP claims — your contracts lead does this within a day.
- Identify which goods are named in the claim and freeze onward distribution of that batch — your logistics team, immediately.
- Ask the supplier, in writing, whether the patent is unitary and whether the claim has reached the Unified Patent Court — the supplier's counsel should answer within five business days.
- Check whether any of your shipments have already been stopped at a border under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 — your customs broker confirms this.
- Instruct counsel to assess whether you are a co-defendant or a bystander — this determines the next step, not the supplier's own assessment.
- Preserve records of what you knew and when you knew it — this matters if the rights holder later argues you knew of the infringement.
Who decides, and on what evidence
Two decision-makers can be involved, and they answer different questions.
Customs authorities decide whether to detain a shipment under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013; they do not decide infringement. Their decision rests on the rights holder's application and a description of the goods.
The Unified Patent Court, where the patent carries unitary effect, decides infringement itself, under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. It examines evidence of what was made, sold, and known, not what the supplier promised you in a side letter.
If your situation differs
A similar exposure appears when an acquired team brings undisclosed prior work into a company: When an acquired team brings prior work explained. The same logic governs who answers for an undisclosed origin.
| Your situation | What follows |
|---|---|
| The supplier admits no clearance check was done | Treat the claim as active; move to the detention check and the indemnity notice without delay. |
| The patent is not a unitary one | Expect a separate process in each country where the patent is registered, not a single forum. |
| You import components, not finished goods | Check whether the claim names your exact codes, or the whole shipment class. |
Factors that decide the cost
The same provenance gap appears when the token refers to an unregistered right and no register confirms what it claims: When the token refers to an unregistered right and. Patents, tokens, and undisclosed prior work share one weakness: nobody checked the source before it moved down the chain.
| Factor | Why it moves the cost |
|---|---|
| Number of jurisdictions the goods already reached | Each border can trigger a separate detention |
| Whether the patent is unitary or bundled nationally | Decides one forum against several parallel cases |
| Wording of the supplier's indemnity clause | Decides who pays for the defence |
| How much you knew, and when | Affects whether you are treated as a knowing party |
How the file is organised
We open the file with the contract, the claim, and the shipping record, in that order. Every fact in the assessment carries its source; every gap is marked as a gap, not filled with an assumption. A partner reviews the file before it leaves the firm, whatever the size of the shipment.
Before we open a file we tell you what data we collect and what is switched off by default: Cookies and what is switched off by default and.
Sources and limit
Checked: 4 March 2025. The account above rests on Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012, Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012, and the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, as published on EUR-Lex.
This page does not replace the check you should run before the relationship starts. If the supplier is new, or is in fact a distributor, the earlier question is provenance, not defence: Counterparty report before onboarding a distributor and the deadline.
Related situations
Related: When an ex-employee appears as an inventor elsewhere explained.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first step when a supplier is accused of infringing a third party?
Freeze onward distribution of the named batch and pull the supply contract's indemnity clause before you respond to anyone.
Which deadline is already running?
If customs has detained a shipment under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, the response window opens the day the detention notice is issued, not the day you read it.
Who decides, and on what evidence?
Customs decides whether to hold the goods, on the rights holder's application. The Unified Patent Court, where the patent is unitary, decides infringement on the evidence of what was made and sold.
Next step
A partner responds within minutes during business hours once you send the claim and the contract. Confirmation of scope follows within one business day.