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Paris Appeal Court - PTC v/ THYSSEN KRUP and al


Decision date

2012-11-14

Decision No.

10/21432

Nature

Patent

Country

France

Jurisdiction

Paris Appeal Court

Parties

PTC v/ THYSSEN KRUPP GFT TIEFBAUTECHNIK and al



The PTC company was represented by Arnaud Casalonga, Lawyer, assisted by Olivier Delprat, Patent Attorney.

The Paris Court of Appeal confirms the validity of the PTC patent and decides that THYSSENKRUPP has infringed this patent.

This judgment of the Court of Appeal of Paris ends a process which took place over 13 years.

The PTC company holds a French patent for a vibrator with variable moment for driving objects into the ground. She carried out two infringement-seizures then sued for infringement the company THYSSENKRUPP Tiefbautechnik (called Thyssen TIEF) which makes in Germany a vibrator and the company KRUPP which leases the infringing vibrator in France.

In the first instance, the First Instance Court of Strasbourg decided on 12 May 2003 that the patent of PTC was valid and that the company THYSSENKRUPP had committed acts of infringement.

The Court of Appeal of Colmar in its decision of 17 December 2008 overturned the judgment of first instance in its entirety, canceling claims 1, 3, 4 and 7 of the PTC patent.

The Supreme Court in its decision of 15 June 2010 set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal of Colmar. It noted in particular that the invalidity of claim 1 did not lead to invalidity of the dependent claims.

The Paris Court of Appeal, judging in last resort following the decision of the Supreme Court, finally decided that the PTC patent was fully valid and infringed.

It held that the company Thyssen TIEF clearly identified during the infringement-seizures as having manufactured the infringing equipment, had committed acts of infringement. The Paris Court of Appeal also upheld the damages awarded by the First Instance Court.