Patent infringement discovered at ACHEMA

Manufacturer from Asia forced to remove plagiarized item from its trade show exhibit

In recent years, German high-tech companies have suffered due to competition from cheap products sold primarily by manufacturers from Asia, who are copying German technical developments. Tuttlingen-based BINDER GmbH, holder of more than 70 patents and a recognized technology leader in the market for climate simulation equipment, clearly demonstrated at the ACHEMA 2009 in Frankfurt that this state of affairs is not acceptable.

Because drying chambers from Asia that copy the proven BINDER systems have increasingly appeared on the international market in recent years, the company has established an in-house department that specializes in patents and patent law. While visiting the ACHEMA show, one of the most important trade exhibitions for BINDER and the venue for 4,000 international exhibitors each year, BINDER employees made some significant discoveries. The exhibitor ESCO from Singapore was displaying new incubators that contained exact copies of the shelf supports with anti-tilting features patented by BINDER.

BINDER immediately contacted a Frankfurt law firm specializing in patents directly from the trade show. The attorneys obtained a temporary restraining order. As a result, ESCO was forced to remove the shelf supports from its exhibit as well as all documentation, and also had to remove all information and pictures of the product from its company website. BINDER will continue to monitor the importers, and should the product in question resurface on the market, the Asian manufacturer will face heavy penalties.

Peter M. Binder, Managing Partner of BINDER GmbH, considers the company's efforts against patent and trademark infringement as the most important element in protecting German manufacturers. “Quality products made in Germany are essentially based upon our technical lead and our investments in research and development. For this reason, our “patent detectives” will continue to monitor the market carefully. At this time, a potential violation of trademark law is being investigated.”