The High Court passed Judgment on the 22nd July that the Pinnacle 500 modular lean-to conservatory roofing system, manufactured by Eurocell, does not infringe Ultraframe’s Ultralite 500 patent. However, it does infringe Ultraframe’s design right, which expired in March 2003. This judgment is final, and a later hearing will determine damages.

Honourable Mr Justice Lewison ruled that Pinnacle 500 infringes Ultraframe’s design right in: a) the assembly as a whole; b). the panels, taken as a whole. Pinnacle 500 does not infringe Ultraframe’s design right in the top caps or end caps, viewed individually. The ‘U-shaped’ channels are not protected by design right at all.

At the time that the Eurocell design team were designing Pinnacle 500, Eurocell was the biggest distributor of Ultralite 500.

Pinnacle 500 went onto the market in the spring of 2002.

Ultralite 500 went onto the market in March 1993. Design right in the system as first marketed therefore expired in March 2003, and the Judge ruled that a 1995 redesign did not create a new system.

www.courtservice.gov.uk

www.ultraframe.com

www.eurocell.co.uk

Source

Glass Age