[Hannover] Following the recently signed strategic partnership agreement with Innovations4Flooring (I4F), Ulrich Windmöller Consulting GmbH & Co. KG (UWC) took action to enforce its patent rights during the Domotex trade fair in Hannover. I4F represents UWC and Kowon in the protection of their IP assets and the Windmöller vinyl patent rights.
UWC obtained a court order against Jiangsu Beier Decoration Materials Co. Ltd (BBL) and Jiangsu Dongzheng New Decorative Materials Co. Ltd (KBS) manufacturers. The preliminary injunction required the removal of vinyl infringing products from booths belonging to BBL and KBS at Domotex. The Braunschweig Court, issuing this order, was convinced that vinyl products from BBL and KBS, with a thickness of between 4 - 8 mm and a locking system, infringe the German part of the European Patent EP 1938963 B2 (EP‘963).
The court order was executed on Sunday, Jan. 14 at Domotex during which BBL and KBS were instructed to remove the infringing products from their booths. Both companies reportedly refused to follow the court order. As a result, further steps to identify damages as well as potential legal action against both companies’ customers, illegally using the Windmöller patents, are being evaluated. Ulrich Windmöller stated that he was satisfied the order has confirmed the relevance of the EP’963 patent for vinyl products and confirms his intention to continue the enforcement of Windmöller patent rights through its partnership with I4F.