Hewlett-Packard secures victory against Lama France, defending European patents.
Hewlett-Packard Development Company (HP) secured a partial legal victory in its battle against French electronics distributor Lama France, following a ruling by the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Paris on Wednesday. The decision addressed HP’s claims of patent infringement over two European patents related to inkjet printing technology.
The court upheld HP’s claims against Lama France for infringing on patents EP’669 and EP’230, both covering advanced inkjet fluid ejection devices. However, in a blow to HP’s legal arsenal, the court invalidated key claims of the EP’230 patent after Lama successfully demonstrated lack of novelty based on prior art from a European publication, EP’211.
Judge Camille Lignieres, presiding, ruled that while Lama’s arguments on procedural grounds and patent sufficiency were insufficient, EP’230’s primary claims did not meet the novelty threshold. “The invention must be entirely disclosed in the prior art to lack novelty, which was satisfied in this case,” the court stated.
The decision affirmed Lama’s liability for the manufacturing, importation, and sale of HP-compatible cartridges without authorisation. HP had sought damages of up to €1 million ($1.06 million) and measures including product recalls and destruction of infringing goods. The court granted provisional damages of €100,000 ($105,762), with the final sum to be determined in separate proceedings.
Lama France, founded in 1989, specialises in distributing third-party printer consumables. The company’s attempt to nullify both patents entirely was rejected for EP’669, which was found to be valid and enforceable.
