BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The Munich District Court (Landgericht München I) has decided in favour of Shimano in a patent infringement law suit against DNP Inc., Taiwan and TAIMCO, Germany. The complaint served to protect Shimano’s rights in its European Patent 0 313 345, which covers Shimano’s HYPERGLIDE-technology.
DNP and TAIMCO will no longer be allowed to market EPOCH Index Sprockets by DNP with the following designations: 9912, LY-107KF, "Huge Gear", 7-fach, 11-32 Zähne; 0003, LY-1007KF, "Mega Gear" 7-fach, 11-34 Zähne; 0003, LY-1007KF, 7-fach, 13-28 Zähne; as well as the EPOCH Hyper Flow DNP Sprockets, both
7V, 7-fach, 13-28 Zähne, and 8V, 7-fach, 11-28 Zähne.
This ruling follows – and according to Shimano "confirms" – the previous rulings of the Munich District Court relating to the same technology against SRAM Deutschland GmbH (Landgericht München I, docket Nr.
21 O 21210/00, under appeal with the Oberlandesgericht München, docket Nr. 6 U 4058/03) and against POINT (Landgericht München I, docket Nr. 21 O 7147/01, under appeal with the Oberlandesgericht München, docket Nr. 6 U 4259/03).
A statement from Shimano Europe said:
"Shimano is confident that the most recent decision against DNP and TAIMCO in addition to the decisions against SRAM and POINT will receive the appropriate attention not only by manufacturers, but also, in particular, by dealers. In this regard Shimano advises all manufacturers and dealers that the using or selling of infringing cassettes also constitutes an infringement of Shimano’s patent."
The new ruling, like the others, applies only to Germany.
