About the client
Closed joint-stock company "Vitalpharm" was founded in 1999.
ZAO Vitalpharm produces a wide range of medical products: first aid kits for the care and provision of first aid to a baby, developed taking into account the recommendations and wishes of pediatricians in St. Petersburg; universal first aid kits designed to provide first aid in offices, factories, at home, outdoors and in various situations; special industry first aid kits for various types of activities.
Today, Vitalpharm CJSC is actively working in the automotive pharmaceutical markets, in the industrial medicine market, and sells its products in the largest children's stores.
The essence of the problem
Vitalpharm contacted us at a time when they were simultaneously having a court hearing regarding their violation of patent rights to an industrial design. At the same time, the copyright holder wanted to recover a large sum of money from Vitalpharm CJSC, as well as to prohibit the production and sale of these first-aid kits (Vitalpharm produced the same first-aid kit, only with a different label).
First aid kit, which was protected by a patent:
Uniqueness and complexity of the case
The case was a key tool for winning a patent infringement lawsuit. The patent was filed in February 2009. We could not find evidence discrediting the novelty of this product (ie information prior to February 2009). But they paid attention to a photograph of a famous car brand and even found it in publications from 2007. This fact helped us revoke this patent.
Our solution
In parallel with the litigation, we filed an objection to the grant of this patent with the Patent Disputes Chamber.
We presented additional materials and arguments in which it was noted that the label contained on the first aid kit case explicitly uses an image of a BMW 3 Series 46er. After analyzing the Internet, a photograph was discovered that was identical to the image used on the label. According to the objector, this photograph was published on January 26, 2007 by Ahmed Salah, which leads to the conclusion that Ahmed Salah may be the author of this photograph. As a result, the product under the disputed patent contains someone else’s copyrighted work. Also, such registration may mislead the consumer regarding cooperation between the BMW automobile concern and the Copyright Holder.
Result
The patent was invalidated in its entirety.
The client won the court case, because... The Plaintiff no longer had a design patent. Vitalpharm has already recovered compensation for legal expenses from the former Copyright Holder.
