02.04.2004

Court rule against Liebherr in patent battle

Terex-Demag has received confirmation that its law suit against Liebherr Ehingen for its 'Y-Guy' boom support system patent infringement on Demag's Sideways SuperLift (SSL) boom technology has been successful.

Patent lawyers received the verdict at Mannheim district court in Germany, before delivering it to Terex-Demag at the bauma 2004 exhibition.

Steve Filipov, president of Terex-Demag, said that Demag had no wish to cause difficulties to those companies which have purchased Liebherr's 'Y-Guy' boom system, and that the company would like to sit down with Liebherr's management at the earliest opportunity to work out a negotiated settlement. “We will be doing all we can to prevent any difficulties or concerns for crane owners who have cranes fitted with this system," he commented.

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Demag's Sideways SuperLift boom system.

Hans-Georg Frey, managing director of Liebherr Ehingen, told Vertikal.Net that the company had not yet seen the full text of the ruling, and that it was therefore not in a position to decide if it will appeal the decision or, when, and if, the company will open negotiations with Terex-Demag.

The summary ruling prohibits Liebherr from manufacturing, offering for sale, putting into circulation and making use of its 'Y-Guy' boom suspension system for mobile cranes. Although the ruling specifically cites Liebherr's LTM1500, it covers the overall 'Y-Guy' boom system concept and the system's general geometry, so, therefore, also applies to Liebherr's LTM 1400.

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Liebherr's 'Y-Guy' boom support system.

The penalties for a patent infringement is a fine of up to €250,000 per case and/or up to six months imprisonment, with a maximum limit of two years. In the UK, it is usually the chief executive who serves such a term.

The likely outcome will be a negotiated settlement for Liebherr mobile cranes that have already been delivered, and, either a fee for future deliveries, or a redesign by Liebherr to eliminate the infringements.

Liebherr refrained from exhibiting its 'Y-Guy' system on the LTM1500 at bauma, but did show the new LTM 1400 with a slightly modified system. Liebherr Ehingen said that it does not believe that Terex should have been awarded the patent for such a system.

The Intermat exhibition held in Paris in May 2003, 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 as the ruling appears to clearly indicate that that company's 'Mega Wing Lift' boom superlift design also infringes Demag's boom system patent.

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Grove's Mega WingLift boom support system pictured here mounted on a GMK 7450.

The 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-Demag's Sideways Superlift 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.