A patent row between Avery Dennison and UPM Raflatac shows no sign of being settled amicably as the two label substrate giants head to a German court.
The stoush centres on UPM Raflatac’s product Raflex MDO, which the other claims infringes its patented rights under European Patent Number 2 049 333 B1. Avery Dennison is asking the German court to stop the sale of the MDO pressure-sensitive film product. It claims it has made attempts to license the product to PM Raflatac that were rebuffed and that its Global MDO ( machine directed oriented) technology is protected under patents granted in Europe and China with applications pending in the US and Brazil.
According to Jeroen Diderich, vice president, global marketing, Avery Dennison Materials Group, the company attempted to negotiate a license agreement with UPM Raflatac. “We attempted to negotiate a license agreement with UPM Raflatac, in the hope of avoiding litigation while allowing their continued supply of this product. Unfortunately, that effort was unsuccessful,’” he said. “Avery Dennison respects the intellectual property rights of other companies and individuals and expects others to do the same.”
UPM Raflatac denies it is infringing on the Avery Dennison patent claiming that it has been developing a number of products within the MDO film technology field that have resulted in several new inventions that are also protected globally through patenting. In a statement it says that Raflex MDO is one good example of this development program, creating a high performing product that brings an alternative to the market place.
UPM Raflatac disputes that any infringement has occurred and has continuously sought to seek mutual understanding in this claim. In the absence of such understanding, UPM Raflatac will use every effort to protect itself against this groundless claim and its right to continue the manufacturing and supply of Raflex MDO to its customers.
Avery Dennison's Global MDO was launched in September 2011, part of the product family that’s been marketed globally, including Australia & NZ since 1995.