German Court Rules in Unilin's Favor, Opposition to Appeal

Wielsbeke, Belgium, February 6, 2018-On February 2, the German District Court of Düsseldorf decided that Ulrich Windmöller Consulting GmbH & Co. KG (UWC) may not offer or grant any licenses on the UWC patent rights, which are based on the priority applications DE 10 2006 058 655, US 13/214,175, DE-U1-20 2011 107 236.7 and EP 2011008659.2.

Unilin argued that UWC had no right to terminate Flooring Industries’ exclusive right to sublicense these patents. On this basis, the court issued an order prohibiting UWC from offering or signing any license agreements on the patents. UWC was also ordered to pay the majority of the legal costs of the proceedings and will be fined up to 250,000 euro for every license offered or granted.

The decision of the court of Düsseldorf may be opposed by UWC.

When informed of this decision, the opposing side reported that it was unaware of the suit and planned to appeal.