03.11.2003

Crane giants in court battle

Terex Cranes has filed a patent infringement action against Liebherr’s German mobile and crawler crane production operation, Liebherr Ehingen. The filing was lodged at the patent division of the Mannheim district court in Germany, where on 6 February 2004 a preliminary hearing will be held on to decide whether there is a case to answer. Terex has said that Grove may be next in line.

The believed infringement focuses on Liebherr’s ‘Y-guy’ boom support system, which the company launched at the end of 2001 as a rival product to Terex’s Sideways Superlift (SSL) technology. Terex’s Demag subsidiary developed and secured a patent for its SSL system 12 months prior to the introduction of the Liebherr technology.

Terex Demag’s SSL system is an attachment for telescopic booms which increases a crane’s lifting capacity, particularly when lifting with the boom in near vertical position at a low radius. Like the Terex Demag technology, Liebherr’s ‘Y-guy’ system provides lateral support to telescopic booms, again enhancing lift capacities when the boom is in a near vertical position.

The Intermat exhibition held in Paris back in May also saw Grove showcase a similar lateral boom strengthening attachment, dubbed Mega Wing-Lift, on a 450 tonne capacity GMK 7450 all terrain crane. Terex said that it may also take action against Grove’s system, which it also believes is also an infringement on its SSL system.

Liebherr Ehingen said that it does not believe that Terex should have been awarded the patent for such a system and that it will contest the filing.