Innovations4Flooring (I4F), a technology company providing flooring installation solutions, announced that it has initiated the filing of an action to nullify the Dutch part of the base patent EP 1 084 317 (displaced surfaces) from Välinge Innovation AB. The invalidity proceedings on the merits against Välinge were filed before the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands.
I4F claims that it has clear evidence that the Dutch part of the base patent is fully anticipated by various prior art references, and is seeking a ruling that the claims of Välinge’s EP 1 084 317 are invalid. The enforcement of Välinge’s patent EP 1 084 317 has been imposed on the flooring industry for close to seventeen years, says I4F.
The proceedings allow for a decision in the Netherlands. A first instance decision, dealing with validity, can be obtained within approximately one year.
I4F claims that it is the original creator and provider of a truly patented one piece drop-lock solution, based on a threefold locking mechanism, suitable for laminate, LVT, WPC and wooden flooring panels. The company’s 3L TripleLock one piece drop-lock technology has patents granted in 37 countries worldwide and multiple additional patent applications pending.
In a similar case, on 27 November 2015, the Court of The Hague in the Netherlands issued a first decision in favour of Unilin in the patent battle between Unilin and Innovations 4 Flooring .
I4F filed this case requesting interim measures from the court of The Hague since I4F was of the opinion that there was a high likelihood that I4F would succeed in an invalidation action against the Dutch counterpart of Unilin's European patent EP 1 026 341. In the first case, the Court of The Hague fully denied I4F's claims and instructed I4F to reimburse Unilin's legal costs for this case. A final a decision on this issue is expected in the middle of 2016.
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