Validity of cost assessment without underlying cost decision in trademark proceedings

The 28th Senate of the Federal Patent Court allowed the appeal and annulled the cost accounting issued by the court’s cost accounting office on 13 January 2016, resulting in the appellant's success in this procedural matter. The dispute concerned a motion for review (Erinnerung) challenging the validity of the initial cost assessment order (Kostenfestsetzung) in a trademark proceedings context, specifically regarding the recovery of costs in ancillary proceedings (Nebenverfahren). The court’s decision hinged on the procedural doctrine that a cost accounting order must be based on a valid underlying cost decision (zugrundeliegende Kostenentscheidung); as such, the absence of a proper prior determination on the costs of the main proceedings rendered the subsequent cost assessment legally defective and subject to cancellation.