Another ZTE case tidbit
Vringo, Inc. (VRNG) today announced that the President of the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands issued its decision in a request filed by ZTE Corporation, ZTE Deutschland GmbH, and ZTE Netherlands B.V. (collectively, "ZTE") to release the ZTE UMTS-products that are being held by Dutch customs officials and to order Vringo to ask the Dutch customs authorities to stop their actions against ZTE`s products based on the Anti Piracy Regulation of the European Union.
In a ruling, issued today, the President denied ZTE`s requests, and upheld the detention of ZTE`s goods as previously ordered by Dutch customs authorities. The Court found that Vringo`s European Patent 1,186,119 ("the `119 Patent"), which a German court previously held to be infringed by ZTE Corporation and ZTE Deutschland GmbH, is prima facie valid and infringed by ZTE. The Court also rejected ZTE`s argument that Vringo has violated European competition law by enforcing the `119 Patent. In addition, the Court ordered ZTE to pay Vringo`s legal costs of €200,000. ZTE may choose to appeal the Court`s decision.
The `119 Patent has been previously found infringed by ZTE Corporation and ZTE Deutschland by a German court (currently under appeal) and found valid in opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office. The German court has also rejected ZTE`s allegation that Vringo violated competition law by enforcing the `119 Patent.
ZTE filed this action on July 24, 2014 in the District Court of The Hague against Vringo Infrastructure, Inc., Vringo`s wholly-owned subsidiary, following the detention of ZTE`s UMTS products by Dutch customs authorities on the basis of the Anti Piracy Regulation and following the institution of a patent infringement lawsuit against ZTE on May 28, 2014 at the District Court of The Hague, in which the destruction of the detained goods was requested. On August 19, 2014, Vringo Infrastructure filed another suit at the District Court of The Hague, which subsumed the May 28, 2014 lawsuit. The August suit accuses ZTE of infringing the `119 Patent in The Netherlands and other countries in which the `119 Patent is in force, and seeks injunctive relief for these countries. A schedule in this matter has not yet been set.
In addition to the Netherlands and Germany, Vringo has also accused ZTE of infringing the `119 Patent in France, where an oral hearing is scheduled to be held on December 8, 2014, and the United Kingdom, where the court has not yet scheduled a trial date on this patent. In Germany, the court is scheduled to hear Vringo`s motion alleging that ZTE Corporation and ZTE Deutschland failed to comply with the accounting ordered by the court in its decision establishing its infringement of the `119 Patent, on November 21, 2014.
