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Kromann Reumert successfully assists German industrial enterprise in asserting its patent right in Denmark

On 26 November 2020, the Danish Western High Court handed down a judgment, in which the Danish DIY discount chain jem & fix A/S was found to infringe the patent right of the German industrial enterprise Hamberger Industriewerke GmbH. The Western High Court thus upheld the first instance judgment by the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court.

Kromann Reumert - domicil - KRK - 3840x2160

The main question of the proceedings was whether jem & fix infringes Hamberger's patent on a particular toilet seat assembly by selling, marketing, importing and possessing a large number of different toilet seats - either due to literal infringement or due to infringement under the doctrine of equivalence.

The judgment is interesting because the High Court disregards the court-appointed expert's appraisal on the issue of literal infringement. The court-appointed expert maintained, both in the written expert reports and during the oral interrogation, that not all claim features were literally found in the allegedly infringing products. Nevertheless, the Western High Court found for literal infringement and thus set aside the court-appointed expert's written and oral statements. This is rare in Danish patent litigation, where the courts often accept and rely on the court-appointed expert in relation to the technical issues.

Kromann Reumert represented Hamberger Industriewerke GmbH throughout the proceedings.

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