Thermomix manufacturer Vorwerk has lost a patent dispute against Lidl in Spain. The discounter can now sell its “Monsieur Cuisine” food processor again.
The Thermomix is the all-rounder among kitchen appliances: it chops, weighs, mixes, cooks, caramelizes and does much more. However, this has its price – the manufacturer Vorwerk sells the current version TM6 in Germany for a proud 1359 euros. The kitchen machine “Monsieur Cuisine” from Lidl is about 1000 euros cheaper. The discounter version can do a little less than the Thermomix, but is still very popular.
Thermomix manufacturer Vorwerk is less enthusiastic about the cheap competition. The company from Wuppertal filed a patent lawsuit against Lidl before a Spanish court and was right in the first instance: At the beginning of 2021, the Spanish judges ruled that Lidl had to take “Monsieur Cuisine” off the market for violating patent rights and that Vorwerk had to pay damages.
Court of Appeal overturns verdict
Now an appeals court in Barcelona has taken up the plagiarism case again and overturned the verdict, as the news agency reports. The judges ruled that the Monsieur Cuisine is technically sufficiently different from the Thermomix. They also found that the Thermomix patent in itself did not offer enough inventive depth to justify protection. “The court finds that Lidl would not have infringed the Thermomix patent even if the patent had been valid,” Reuters quoted a statement from the court as saying.
Vorwerk said in a statement to the stern, they take note of the decision, will examine the verdict and reserve the right to “expressly take further steps”. It is essential for the company to protect its own products and services under intellectual property law. “If necessary, we therefore reserve the right to take legal action against patent or trademark infringements. We have successfully enforced our intellectual property rights in many cases and recently won proceedings.”
But the verdict does not bode well for the manufacturer, who makes a large part of its sales with the Thermomix, even with a view to possible further patent lawsuits in other countries. Both Vorwerk and Lidl sell their food processors internationally in many countries. In the German Lidl online shop, the Monsieur Cuisine “SKMC 1200 F6” is currently being offered for 399 euros.
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
