I4F Reports on Välinge's Patent Case Against Halstead & HD

Willemstad, Curaçao, August 16, 2018-I4F shared details relating to developments supporting Halstead New England Corp. and Home Depot USA, Inc. in the court case brought against them by Välinge.

Recent case filings assert that three of Välinge’s patents, as well as subsequent patents from the same family, are unenforceable on the basis of inequitable conduct. It is believed Välinge and its employees, including a named inventor, deliberately withheld important prior art documents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) during the application process. By doing so, Välinge breached the duty of candor and good faith owed to the USPTO, making the patents unenforceable. This development follows a decision by the court earlier this year, which rendered four of Välinge’s Mannington patents invalid as indefinite.

Välinge responded by saying that the “…accusations made by Halstead and Home Depot (as opportunistically reported by another company on the market) are entirely unsubstantiated and made without a shred of evidence. Välinge resents such accusations - Halstead and Home Depot should not succeed with such claims.

“Välinge’s firm view is that it through the present legal proceedings has acted against infringing products and the entities responsible for bringing them to the market. Välinge’s actions are incented by the need to stand up against infringers for the benefit of its licensees who are rightfully paying license fees and the need to protect its legal rights. Välinge will not hesitate to take further similar actions against other infringers.”