Yokohama Reaches Settlement in Patent Suit
Yokohama Tire Corp. and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. have reached a final settlement agreement with Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. pertaining to design patent infringement, with Hangzhou agreeing to destroy the manufacturing moulds and remaining inventory of its Westlake H280 tyres. In September 2006, Yokohama Tire Corp. and its parent company initiated legal proceedings against China’s Hangzhou alleging, among other claims, a violation of Yokohama’s tyre tread design patent which protects some of its best-selling lines, including the Geolandar A/T+II.