UK: Court of Appeal grants Sycurio permission to appeal
26 January, London, UK. The UK Court of Appeal has granted Sycurio’s application for permission to appeal against the ruling of the High Court of Justice (Patents Court) that Sycurio’s UK patent is invalid and not infringed by PCI-Pal’s Agent Assist product. The Court also extended the stay of the payment to PCI Pal of the High Court’s interim costs award pending further briefing on the matter. In granting permission to appeal, Lord Justice Arnold ruled that “Notwithstanding the force of the points made by the respondents, I consider that the grounds of appeal have a real prospect of success”. Sycurio welcomes this conclusion and looks forward to being able to put its case in full to the Court of Appeal later this year.
Kevin Clancy, Sycurio’s General Counsel, stated that “while we respect the work of the High Court, Sycurio believes that the Court got it wrong on both validity and infringement. Specifically, Sycurio believes that the High Court did not properly determine the meaning of the claims of the UK patent at issue and that, when they are properly understood, PCI Pal’s Agent Assist product infringes those claims.”
Sycurio’s CFO, Paul Greensmith, said “the Court of Appeal decision to extend the stay of the payment of the interim costs award to PCI Pal pending further consideration indicates that the Court understands our concerns about PCI-Pal’s financial position. If the Appeal Court continues the stay and Sycurio prevails on its appeal, it is expected that Sycurio will not have to pay these amounts to PCI Pal and that PCI Pal will have to pay a substantial portion of Sycurio’s trial costs and appellate costs.”
Clancy noted that Sycurio has filed a separate lawsuit in Federal Court in the United States against PCI Pal alleging infringement of four US patents. Trial is expected to take place in the US in early 2025. The Court recently issued its patent claim construction order which was favorable to Sycurio’s case. An attempt by PCI Pal to have the US case dismissed was rejected by the Court in June 2022.
Clancy further noted that “the US case is different from the UK case in a number of important respects including the patents at issue, the legal standards applicable to patent cases in the US, and the burden of proof required to conclude patent invalidity. Sycurio remains highly confident in the strength of its US case.”
