Series of Successes in Patent Dispute Over TV Receivers: Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek Again Successful for Topfield

Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court again dismissed a patent infringement action brought by Interessengemeinschaft für Rundfunkschutzrechte GmbH & Co. KG (IGR) against Topfield Europe GmbH. Topfield is thus continuing its winning streak in the trials that are garnering nation-wide attention. The current ruling of February 10, 2011 is not yet final.

Subject of the trial was a patent for searching stations in TV receivers (EP 0601554). Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court now decided that no "searching for frequencies" in accordance with the patent is carried out by the Topfield satellite receiver. The use of a transponder list in which the known frequencies of the satellite transponders is stored does not constitute "searching" in accordance with the patent.

IGR had also brought action against Topfield under two other Grundig patents (EP 0512206 and EP 0612150). These infringement proceedings were finally dismissed or suspended. Additionally, Topfield had filed nullity suits against the patents in return. All three patents were consequently declared invalid in whole or in part by the Federal Patent Court. Currently, the appeals are pending before the Federal Court of Justice.

Cologne-based Topfield Europe GmbH and its Korean parent company Topfield Co. Ltd. have been legally represented by Cologne lawyer Friederike Kienitz already since 2005.
Since 2007, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek's Düsseldorf-based patent law team (including Dr. Anton Horn, Partner, and Dr. Sabine Fiedler, Associate) has been assisting in matters of patent law. It also represented the client in this trial. Patent lawyer Philipe Walter (COHAUSZ & FLORACK) was called on to provide counseling services.