Unilin will appeal a first instance decision of the Court of The Hague which believes that the Dutch part of Unilin’s EP 1 026 341 is invalid. The first instance decision on invalidity has no effect until an appeal decision.
“Unilin firmly believes that this decision is based on incorrect factual and legal assumptions. Unilin, together with its outside counsels, is confident that the decision will be overturned on appeal”, states Bart Van der Stockt of Unilin’s IP division.
The Dutch court dismissed a request to also invalidate the European counterparts of EP 1 026 341 in other countries besides the Netherlands. As a result, this decision will also have no effect for products which are manufactured or sold outside the Netherlands.
To date, Unilin has 32 other independent granted European patents which all protect different aspects of the locking technology and which are widely used in the flooring industry. None of these additional patents, which are also in force in the Netherlands, are affected by this first instance decision. The validity of one of these additional patents, EP 2 077 358, was reconfirmed by the European patent office on the 15th of June 2016 (see press release of 17/06/2016). This decision is final and cannot be appealed.