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The plaintiff, Konecranes Global Corporation (“Konecranes”), licensed under the laws of Finland is a subsidiary of Konecranes Plc, “a publicly traded company that designs, manufactures, and sells [heavy-duty] lifting equipment” worldwide. The defendant, Mode Tech (Beijing) Co., Ltd (“ModeTech”), is a Chinese business entity. At the center of this dispute is United States Patent No. 8, 096, 528 (“528 Patent”), initially issued to the inventors Jurgen Weingartner, Manfred Finzel and Volker Deitrich on January 17, 2012, and eventually assigned to Konecranes, entitled “Chain Sprocket With Increased Capacity”. The 528 Patent “claims a chain sprocket for driving a link chain such as a round link chain. A round link chain has a plurality of interconnected chain links where the chain links alternate between horizontal orientation and a vertical orientation”. Unlike previously designed chain sprockets, the sprocket of the ‘528 patent, “also engages the vertical links of the link chain”. As stated in Konecranes’ complaint, Mode Tech planned to knowingly sell its infringing product, the Mode V6, at the 2018 Live Design International Show and Conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center held this month. The facts of this case are “virtually identical” to one tried in the Regional Court of Braunschweig, Germany between the two parties. Accordingly, Konecranes is seeking injunctive relief and damages.
Written by Antoinette Adesanya
