Press release dated May 27, 2020
In the context of a comprehensive patent litigation complex between WAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH and Molex Deutschland GmbH, the Regional Court of Munich I pronounced a judgement on the merits on May 20, 2020, holding that Molex Deutschland GmbH infringes the German part of the European patent EP 3 159 974 B1 of WAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (7 O 8052/19).
The judgment prohibits MOLEX Deutschland GmbH from offering, putting into circulation and/or using and/or importing and/or possessing for the mentioned purposes its one- and two-pole terminal blocks “Lite-Trap” (part numbers 1041880110 and 1041880210) and embodiments that are essentially the same in the Federal Republic of Germany as of the provisional enforcement of the first-instance judgment by WAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH against provision of security. It is possible for MOLEX Deutschland GmbH to lodge an appeal against the judgment. An opposition against the patent-in-suit which MOLEX Deutschland GmbH filed with the European Patent Office is still pending.
The proceedings on the merits followed preliminary injunction proceedings between the same parties relating to the same patent; said proceedings were ruled in favor of WAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH at first instance (7 O 6409/19) and, due to a change in the case law of the Higher Regional Court of Munich, in favor of MOLEX Deutschland GmbH at second instance (6 U 4009/19). In the preliminary injunction proceedings, the Higher Regional Court of Munich had followed the first instance in finding patent infringement, but followed the case law of the Higher Regional Court of Duesseldorf in particular and of the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe for the first time. According to said case law, there generally only is a prospect of success of a request for a preliminary injunction for patent infringement if the patent-in-suit has already survived contradictory proceedings on its validity, which was not applicable in the case in dispute.
Moreover, throughout Germany, four additional patent infringement proceedings between the parties at various instances are pending before the patent litigation courts in Mannheim/Karlsruhe and Duesseldorf. Besides, parallel validity proceedings are ongoing. Apart from that, in the People's Republic of China, patent infringement proceedings between WAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH and Molex LLC et. al. relating to a Chinese patent (No. 201510695626.3) from the same patent family as that of the patent-in-suit in this case are pending before the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court.
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Representatives of WAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH: BARDEHLE PAGENBERG (Munich):
Nadine Westermeyer (Attorney-at-Law)
Prof. Dr. Tilman Müller-Stoy (Attorney-at-Law, Lead Counsel)
Johannes Lang (Patent Attorney)
Dr. Stefan Lieck (Attorney-at-Law)
Alexander Wunsch (Patent Attorney)
Gramm, Lins & Partner (Hannover)
Hans Joachim Gerstein (Patent Attorney)
Representatives of Molex Deutschland GmbH: Hogan Lovells
(Munich, Duesseldorf):
Dr. Steffen Steininger (Attorney-at-Law)
Dr.-Ing. Martin Fähndrich (Attorney-at-Law and Patent Assessor)
Dr. Teresa Christof (Attorney-at-Law)
Regional Court of Munich I, 7th Civil Chamber
Dr. Zigann (Presiding Judge at the Regional Court)
Klein (Judge at the Regional Court)
Dr. Werner (Judge at the Regional Court)