Court victory for Välinge Aluminium

Viken, Sweden - January 23, 2002

Last year the Berry Group, a licensee of Välinge, started legal actions against Kronotex claiming that the Kronotex product Isilock infringed the Välinge patents.

Today we received the official information from the judge stating that Isilock is an infringement against the Välinge –130 and –482 European patents. These patents protect a four side locking system and an angling, sliding and snapping installation method.

This is the fifth court victory for Berry/Välinge in Germany. The judge has ruled that companies like Egger, Parador and Kronotex infringe Välinge patents. (Click here to download a PDF with photos of their locking systems)

The victory against Kronotex is the first ruling after the opposition in EPO against the first Välinge -162 paten. This proves that the comprehensive patent family of Välinge is strong enough to stop infringers, even without the support of the first –162 patent. The number of victories also shows that the Välinge patent family is broad enough to stop several different types of angling and snapping locking systems.

Kronotex is one of the largest laminate producers in the world. They were the third company to enter the market for glue-free floorings in 1999, with their mechanical Isilock system. The second company was Unilin in 1997. Our licensee Alloc AS pioneered this market in 1996 when they introduced the first flooring with a mechanical locking system.
Considerable volumes of Isilock have been sold in Germany and if Berry will be successful in the appeals Kronotex might face large claims for damages.

For further information:
Linda Pervan-Lindeborg
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