ECJ Rejects Appeal, Confirms SAAS Ownership of SET Triage Trademark

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has definitively rejected a cassation appeal by Dr Josep Francesc Gómez Jiménez, former head of emergencies at Nostra Senyora de Meritxell Hospital, and two family members. In a ruling dated 14 January, the court declined to admit the appeal, upholding prior decisions that annulled his 2009 registration of the Structured Triage System (SET) trademark and affirming ownership by the Andorran Health Care Service (SAAS).

The SET, created by Dr Gómez Jiménez during his SAAS contract, serves as a core protocol for patient prioritization in Andorran urgent care and has earned international acclaim for its utility in demanding medical settings. The dispute arose after he registered the trademark soon after renewing his SAAS contract. SAAS challenged the registration at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in 2021, citing bad faith due to their prior professional relationship.

EUIPO sided with SAAS, a ruling upheld by the EU General Court in July 2025. Dr Gómez Jiménez argued against any bad faith, insisting the SAAS ties were purely commercial and that rights transfers covered only software adaptation and use, not the triage method itself. He also claimed courts erred by excluding new documents that reinforced known facts without altering the case substance.

The ECJ dismissed the appeal on admissibility grounds, ruling it failed to raise points of major importance for EU law's uniformity or development. Earlier courts had tied the SET's origins to his SAAS role, noted the absence of prior notice about the registration, and deemed it contrary to honest commercial practices. The decision, issued before notifying other parties, orders each side to cover its own costs, exhausting EU judicial avenues.

The SET continues integral to Andorra's hospital emergency operations. The matter forms part of a wider legal clash between the parties, with potentially substantial financial implications given the system's adoption abroad.