Setterwalls advised client in patent dispute on rock drilling rigs

Setterwalls has recently successfully represented a company in the mining and construction industry in a patent dispute concerning battery-powered rock drilling rigs. After the EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal invalidated the counterpart’s patent, the Patent and Market Court of Appeal (PMCA) declared that Setterwalls’ client had been fully successful in its appeal and awarded the client compensation for legal costs before both the Patent and Market Court (PMC) and the PMCA.

The rock drilling rigs at issue are technically advanced, heavy-duty machines used for blast hole drilling in underground mining and tunnelling. The all-electric, battery-powered drivelines of the drill rigs allow them to be moved between mining workstations without emitting exhaust gases. The patent holder filed a lawsuit with the PMC in December 2021 for alleged patent infringement. Setterwalls’ client contested the infringement claim and brought an action to have the patent declared invalid in Sweden.

In its judgement in June 2023, the PMC declared the patent partially invalid and concluded that the client did not infringe the patent. Both parties appealed the judgement to the PMCA.

In parallel with the proceedings at the PMCA, proceedings were ongoing at the EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal in Munich, where Setterwalls also represented the client. In April 2024, the Technical Board of Appeal declared the patent invalid in its entirety, with respect to all European jurisdictions. Consequently, in July 2024, the Swedish court declared Setterwalls’ client fully successful in its appeal and awarded the client its costs in both the invalidity and infringement proceedings, in both instances.

(See the decision of the PMCA of 2 July 2024 in case no. PMT 10300-23)