Alstom and Bombardier litigating over the Twindexx train; hearing canceled

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Case No. O2017_015 | Hearing of 1 July 2019 (canceled)

First things first: The hearing scheduled for today did not take place. It had been cancelled on short notice because a judge got sick.

Cancellation notice on the website of the FPC

Thus, the following is just a quick teaser of the things to come.

Alstom’s logo

The patent at stake in this infringement case is Alstom‘s EP 1 024 070 B1; see EPO Register and Swissreg for further bibliographic information.

Alstom alleges that Bombardier‘s Twindexx train in the IR100 (SBB RABe 502) configuration infringes EP’070:

The IR100 configuration of Bombardier’s Twindexx train
SBB’s logo

Please find some further information about the Twindexx train on SBB’s website and on Wikipedia.

Bombardier, on the other hand, argues for nullity of EP’070 as a plea in defense. Further, Bombardier argues for non-infringement because the IR100 train does not literally reproduce the feature of a ‘modular’ train, and the feature of ‘two superposed levels’ (marked-up in the claim recited below).


Claim 1 of EP'070 reads as follows:

A modular railway rake formed of at least two vehicles (1, 2) with two superposed levels, including at least one bogie (10) including at least one driving axle, at least one bogie (11) including at least one carrying axle, and on-board equipment including at least one power supply electronic unit (19) for supplying motive power to one or more traction motors, at least one motive power supply unit (22, 25) for supplying power to the electronic unit (19), at least one auxiliary power supply unit (30) for supplying power to auxiliary equipment, and at least one device (21) for connection to an overhead power supply network, in which rake the motive power factor of a vehicle or a group of vehicles is defined as the ratio of the number of driving axles to the total number of axles of the vehicle or group, the rake being characterized in that at least one vehicle (1) includes at least one bogie (10) including at least one driving axle and at least one bogie (11) including at least one carrying axle, at least one bogie (11) of the rake including at least one carrying axle is associated with at least one of said on-board equipment items (19; 22, 25; 30; 21) disposed approximately over that bogie, and the ratio between the respective motive power factors of any two groups of two vehicles of the rake is not less than 1/3 and not more than 3.

A new date for the hearing will now be fixed with the parties. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 21 August 2019:

New summons have been issued for 20 September 2019; see here.

Reported by Martin WILMING

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Case No. O2017_015 | Hearing of 1 July 2019 (canceled)

Alstom Transport Technologies SASU
./.
Bombardier Transportation (Switzerland) AG

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