ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOURTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
17 July 2014 (1)
(Removal from the register)
In Case T-44/13,
AbbVie, Inc., established in Wilmington (United States),
AbbVie Ltd, established in Maidenhead (United Kingdom),
represented initially by G. Berrisch and P. Bogaert, lawyers, and by B. T. A. Kelly, Solicitor, and subsequently by P. Bogaert, B. T. A. Kelly, G. H. Castle, Solicitor, D. W. K. Anderson QC, and D. L. Scannell, Barrister,
applicants,
supported by
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (Efpia), established in Geneva (Switzerland),
and
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, established in Washington (United States),
represented by K. M. Bacon, Barrister, M. I. F. Utges Manley and M. A. Vickers, Solicitors,
by
EuropaBio, established in Brussels (Belgium),
and
Biotechnology Industry Organization, established in Washington,
represented by C. Schoonderbeek, lawyer,
and by
Intellectual Property Owners Association, established in Washington, represented by C. Fulda, É. Barbier de la Serre and F. Amato, lawyers,
interveners,
v
European Medicines Agency, represented by T. Jabłoński, N. Rampal Olmedo and A. Spina, acting as Agents,
defendant,
supported by
Portuguese Republic, represented by A. P. Antunes and L. Inez Fernandes, acting as Agents,
by
European Ombudsman, represented by G. Grill, J. Sant’Anna and F. O’Regan, acting as Agents,
by
Republic of Slovenia, represented by T. Mihelič Žitko and J. Morela, acting as Agents,
by
Bureau européen des unions de consommateurs (BEUC), established in Brussels, represented by S. A. Pappas, lawyer,
by
Republic of Finland, represented by H. Leppo and S. Hartikainen, acting as Agents,
by
Kingdom of Denmark, represented initially by V. Pasternak Jørgensen and C. Thorning, and subsequently by C. Thorning and M. Søndahl Wolff, acting as Agents,
and by
French Republic, represented by D. Colas and F. Fize, acting as Agents,
interveners,
APPLICATION for annulment of decision EMA/748792/2012 of 14 January 2013, granting a third party access, under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43), to certain documents containing information submitted in a dossier in respect of an application for a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product Humira, which is intended for the treatment of Crohn’s disease.
1 By letter lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 31 March 2014, the applicants informed the Court, in accordance with Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure, that they wished to discontinue proceedings and that the applicant and the defendant will bear their own costs. They requested that the interveners be ordered to pay their own costs.
2 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 2 April 2014, the Portuguese Republic informed the Court that it had no observations on the application for discontinuance. It sought no order as to costs.
3 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 10 April 2014, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (Efpia) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America informed the Court that they had no observations on the application for discontinuance. They sought no order as to costs.
4 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 11 April 2014, the European Ombudsman informed the Court that it had no observations on the application for discontinuance. It sought no order as to costs.
5 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 15 April 2014, the Bureau européen des unions de consommateurs (BEUC) requested that the applicants be ordered to bear the costs incurred by BEUC.
6 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 16 April 2014, EuropaBio and the Biotechnology Industry Organization informed the Court that they had no observations on the application for discontinuance and that they will bear their own costs.
7 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 16 April 2014, the French Republic informed the Court that it had no observations on the application for discontinuance. It sought no order as to costs.
8 By letter lodged at the Registry of the Court on 23 April 2014, the defendant informed the Court that it had no observations on the application for discontinuance. It sought no order as to costs.
9 The Intellectual Property Owners Association, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Denmark did not lodge observations on the application for discontinuance.
10 The first subparagraph of Article 87(5) of the Rules of Procedure provides that a party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings shall be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the observations of the other party on the discontinuance.
11 Furthermore, the third subparagraph of Article 87(5) of the Rules of Procedure provides that, where proceedings are discontinued and costs are not applied for, the parties are to bear their own costs.
12 Finally, under Article 87(4) of the Rules of Procedure, the Member States and the institutions which intervened in the proceedings are to bear their own costs.
13 By order of the President of the General Court of 25 April 2013 in Case T-44/13 R, order of the Vice-President of the Court of Justice of 28 November 2013 in Case C-389/13 P(R) and order of the President of the General Court of 8 April 2014 in Case T-44/13 R-RENV relating to the application for interim measures lodged by the applicant on 29 January 2013, the decision as to costs was reserved. It is therefore appropriate to rule in the present order on the costs relating to all the procedures concerning the application for interim measures in accordance with Article 121 of the Rules of Procedure.
14 The case will therefore be removed from the register and the applicants ordered to pay their own costs, including those incurred in relation to the application for interim measures and in relation to the appeal before the Court of Justice of the order ruling on that application, as well as the costs incurred by the intervener, BEUC. The defendant and the interveners Efpia and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America as well as the European Ombudsman shall bear their own costs, including those incurred in relation to the application for interim measures and in relation to the appeal before the Court of Justice of the order ruling on that application. The Intellectual Property Owners Association, EuropaBio and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Denmark and the French Republic shall bear their own costs.
On those grounds,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOURTH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL COURT
hereby orders:
1. Case T-44/13 is removed from the register of the General Court.
2. The applicants shall bear their own costs, including those incurred in relation to the application for interim measures and in relation to the appeal before the Court of Justice of the order ruling on that application, as well as those incurred by the intervener, the Bureau européen des unions de consommateurs (BEUC).
3. The defendant and the interveners, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (Efpia) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America as well as the European Ombudsman shall bear their own costs, including those incurred in relation to the application for interim measures and in relation to the appeal before the Court of Justice of the order ruling on that application.
4. The Intellectual Property Owners Association, EuropaBio and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Denmark and the French Republic shall bear their own costs.
Luxembourg, 17 July 2014.