i4F and partners settle all pending embossing patent disputes

 Friday, February 3, 2023

Embossing patent disputes comes to an end as i4F and its partners settle all pending issues.  The agreement includes all relevant patents covering direct-on-board digital printing and digital embossing technologies.  Licensees of i4F’s Digital Printing Technologies cluster, includes, patents of i4F, Hymmen, Classen and Kronospan, will now be free to operate under Unilin, Barberán and Zeetree patents.

As a result of this agreement, all pending and threatened litigation between the various parties, relating to digital printing and digital embossing patents outlined in the agreement, in domestic courts as well as before the European Patent Office, are withdrawn. The scope of the digital printing settlement agreement covers decorative panels with any type of wood, mineral and/or polymer based core, including MDF, HDF, LVT, SPC, WPC, MgO, PP, PU and cork.

i4F and Hymmen entered into a strategic patent partnership in January 2021 giving i4F licensing rights for all Hymmen’s digital printing patents and technologies for flooring production, including Hymmen’s award winning Digital Lacquer Embossing Plus (DLE+) technology. i4F continues to work in close collaboration with Hymmen to promote new digital printing opportunities in the flooring industry.

Over the past years, pending and threatened patent litigation resulted in continuous legal uncertainty, costs and commercial risks which hindered the adoption of breakthrough digital printing and digital embossing technologies in the global decorative panel industry. To end the stalemate and to accelerate market adoption of digital printing and digital embossing technologies, the various parties have agreed to settle their pending and threatened disputes. For existing and future licensees of i4F’s Digital Printing Technologies cluster, this allows them to benefit from a significantly expanded freedom-to-operate when producing and selling decorative panels with a digital décor print and/or digital embossing. This means that i4F licensees can manufacture and sell their products without the threat of a patent infringement litigation.

i4F believes this settlement facilitates the accelerated worldwide market adoption of digital printing technologies with unlimited digitally embossed-in-register décor design possibilities.

Tags: wood, wood and panel, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking industry, woodworking UK