The Swedish Court of Patent Appeals' decision to revoke Andritz' Swedish Patent is upheld - Andritz' Patent SE 531498 is invalid
As Valmet announced by stock exchange release on February 20, 2015, Andritz Oy had filed an application for summons with the Stockholm District Court against Valmet AB, a subsidiary of Valmet, regarding alleged patent infringement. Andritz requested that the court order Valmet to cease the use of the technology described in said patent. Further, Andritz demanded that Valmet pay damages with EUR 54 million.
The validity of the patent has been challenged by Valmet, and as announced by stock exchange release on April 8, 2016, the Swedish Court of Patent Appeals on March 23, 2016, agreed with Valmet and revoked Andritz' patent in full.
Following Andritz' subsequent appeal, the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court has in a decision of August 30, 2016, now refused leave to appeal. The decision to revoke Andritz' patent is thus upheld and the Swedish patent SE 531498 is permanently invalidated. This entails legally that the patent is deemed to never have existed, and as a consequence Andritz' claims for damages in the infringement case in Stockholm District Court are unfounded on all grounds.
Further information, please contact:
Rasmus Oksala, General Counsel, Valmet, tel. +358 10 672 0026
Hanna-Maria Heikkinen, Vice President, Investor Relations, Valmet, tel. +358 10 672 0007
VP, Investor Relations
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