EFI has announced that the Federal Patent Court of Germany has invalidated substantial parts of a patent held by Durst Phototechnik Digital Technology related to white ink printing that Durst had previously asserted in an infringement action against EFI.
Durst sued EFI for allegedly infringing German patent No. 10 2005 006 092. In addition to denying those allegations, EFI filed a nullity action in the Federal Patent Court of Germany, asking that court to invalidate the portions of the patent asserted against EFI on the grounds that what Durst claimed had actually been disclosed years before. German courts in Mannheim and Karlsruhe had already held a Durst utility model claiming the same ‘invention’ invalid for similar reasons.
On October 23, 2013, the German Federal Patent Court invalidated parts of Durst’s patent. Under German law, Durst now has the right to appeal.