Dyson cleans up in court

Example of Patent Infringement

 

As stated by the Intellectual Property Office, infringing on a patent means manufacturing, using, selling or importing a patented product or process without the patent owner’s permission. Here is an example of a high profile case:

Dyson v. Hoover

In 2002 Dyson sued Hoover over a dispute in patent infringement. Dyson claimed that Hoover’s Triple Vortex Cleaner, infringed on their patent for its Dual Cyclone Cleaner. The dispute was settled in the High Court and Dyson received  £4 million damages and secured the patent on their bagless vacuum.

“I spent 20 years developing the technology and I am very pleased to see Hoover, who made a lot of false claims about their product, now found guilty of patent infringement," Mr Dyson said, after the court ruled in his favour.

The amount gained in the settlement  was much larger than any previous court award in British Patent history.

"Patent infringement." Intellectual Property Office. Web http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/patent/p-other/p-infringe.html (17/03/2012).