Faus Prevails Against Unilin in a German Court
The same court has now cancelled that order and also ordered Unilin to bear Faus’s costs of the proceedings.
Unilin, which was acquired by Mohawk, obtained the preliminary injunction from the High Court in Hamburg without any prior notice to Faus and without any opportunity by Faus to oppose the order. This preliminary injunction was issued with respect to a Unilin patent that is currently being reevaluated by the European Patent Office because questions regarding its validity have been raised in opposition proceedings. Fais said that Unilin had obtained the preliminary injunction order from the High Court during Domotex 2007 without informing the High Court of all the details and facts regarding this matter.
On January 31, 2007, Faus and Unilin appeared before the High Court in Hamburg to determine whether Unilin should have been granted the preliminary injunction order. Today, after reviewing the facts, the High Court decided that the preliminary injunction should not have been granted. The High Court also decided that Unilin must bear Faus’s costs of the proceedings.
Faus and Unilin originally had a cross-license on each other’s patents but this cross-license agreement was automatically terminated when Mohawk acquired Unilin. After failed attempts at negotiation with Unilin, Faus said it was forced to file a lawsuit against Unilin on Faus’s EIR/bevel edge patents. In the same lawsuit, Mohawk and Columbia Flooring are co-defendants.
Faus is a real global leader in the laminate flooring industry, with manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia and the United States. Always the leader in design and technology innovation, Faus manufactures products designed to meet consumer demands for laminate and moldings of the highest level.
Related Topics:Mohawk Industries, Domotex