Norton Rose Fulbright helps Ishida succeed before the EPO Board of Appeal

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has won opposition appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office on behalf of Japanese food weighing and packing machinery firm Ishida Co. Ltd. The Board of Appeal dismissed the appeal of patent proprietor Cabinplant International A/S from Denmark. This confirmed the first-instance decision favorable to Ishida by which the scope of protection of the patent in dispute (EP 1 859 237 B1) as granted was limited to a much smaller scope irrelevant to Ishida.

The dispute relates to industrial weighing machines for delicate foodstuffs, such as fish or meat, which are core components of food packaging lines. The disputed patent describes a new way of connecting screw conveyors of weighing machines to the motor, thereby allowing for easier assembly and disassembly for the purpose of cleaning. The Opposition Division found the patent as granted lacks inventive step and was therefore considerably limited during first-instance proceedings.

Cabinplant filed an appeal against the decision with the objective of resuming the patent in dispute with the scope as originally granted or, alternatively, with an only slightly limited scope according to three auxiliary requests. Following oral proceedings on December 18, 2019, the EPO Board of Appeal decided to dismiss Cabinplant’s appeal. It confirmed the Opposition Division’s decision of lack of inventive step of the patent as granted, while the three auxiliary requests of the patent holder were not admitted after being filed too late.

Norton Rose Fulbright’s Munich-based patent litigation partner Clemens Rübel, who led the team which included associate Maximilian Schmitz, commented: 

“I am delighted that the proceedings, which had been ongoing for more than five years, were finally concluded successfully in favor of our client Ishida. Thanks to a close collaboration with our client’s patent team we were perfectly prepared to handle any auxiliary requests, so were able to rebut all challenges successfully.”