Major VMI patents upheld in China

China’s Patent Re-examination Board has upheld important patents relating to tyre building technology developed by VMI. Commenting on the board’s decision, VMI Group chief executive officer Harm Voortman said “this decision further strengthens our position in the legal dispute with Safe-Run and reaffirms our confidence in the Chinese legal system.”

According to VMI, Jiangsu Province-based machinery manufacturer Safe-Run Group challenged these patents as their defence in an ongoing legal dispute that began when VMI took action against Safe-Run for infringement of its protected intellectual property. In a statement, VMI writes: “The Patent Re-examination Board ruled recently that the challenged patents remain valid in China. To VMI’s surprise, some other challenged patents were invalidated. VMI will appeal and is convinced that a higher court will recognise the validity of these other patents, which were granted and upheld in many other important countries, and overturn that element of the Patent Re-examination Board’s decision.