GE vs Siemens - UK patent infringement

Following the GE v Siemens UK patent infringement case last year, in which Siemens’ UK patent (EP 2 657 519 B1) was found to be invalid and GE’s wind turbine not to infringe, the Judge has refused permission for the case to be appealed. While this does not prevent Siemens from making an application to the Court of Appeal, the Judge reaffirming their earlier judgement will prevent the decision from being appealed in the same court.

Meanwhile, GE are looking to turn the tables on Siemens in a further related UK action expected to take place later this year. In this action, GE are alleging that Siemens infringe their UK patent protecting a wind turbine generator including a blade pitch control system and a novel power supply system. In their initial pleadings, however, Siemens have counterclaimed that GE’s patent is obvious based on a presentation delivered at a wind-energy conference in 2002 and a publication made in an industry magazine. It will be interesting to see whether Siemens’ counterclaim has merit and how GE plan to defend their rights – we will be following this one closely!

This article is follow on from an earlier article, featured in Windpower Monthly.