Patent decision

BL number

O/350/13

Concerning rights in

EP0800407

Hearing Officer

Mr A C Howard

Decision date

29 August 2013

Person(s) or Company(s) involved

Airscience Technology International Ltd v Wallenius Water AB

Provisions discussed

Patents Rules 2007, rule 74(2)

Keywords

Abuse of process, Estoppel, Revocation

Related Decisions

O/156/13

Summary

The defendant/patentee in this action for revocation submitted that the claimant should be estopped from continuing on the grounds that validity had already been put at issue in two previous proceedings for infringement in which the present claimant (or a predecessor company) had been the defendant. Additionally it was argued that the claim was an abuse of process as an attempt to re-litigate a matter that had been decided. It was decided that although the question of validity had been referred to in papers filed with the court, in neither case had a defence been made and it could not be said that validity had been properly before the court. The question was not therefore res judicata between the parties and the claim was allowed to continue.

Full decision O/350/13 97Kb