Recovered the maximum RUB 5 million for patent infringement

During the proceedings, an evidence base was formed confirming the defendant’s use of the patented technical solution.

At the plaintiff’s request, the court ordered a court patent-technical examination. Subsequently, an additional patent-technical examination was conducted in the case.

Video footage from a quadcopter was also submitted to the case file, recording the operation of the gas generator units.

The expert studies confirmed the presence in the disputed units of features of the invention protected by the Sibtermo-2 LLC patent, as well as the use of the equipment to process solid fuel into combustible generator gas.

As a result, it was possible to prove not only the technical similarity of the equipment to the patented solution, but also its actual use in production.

The defendant denied using the Sibtermo-2 LLC invention and referred to a different patent. The purpose of the equipment, the fact of its operation and the findings of the court examination were also disputed.

During the case, the defendant tried to prove that the disputed units were actually used as silos for storing products rather than as gas generators.

The court assessed the expert opinions, witness testimony, video materials and other evidence in aggregate and found the fact of the exclusive rights infringement proven.

The dispute was technically complex and required not only legal, but also substantial evidentiary work.

The case used:

• a court patent-technical examination;
• an additional patent-technical examination;
• video footage of the operating equipment from a quadcopter;
• witness testimony;
• documents on the defendant’s employees working in the gasification unit;
• a comparison of the equipment’s design features with the claims of the patented invention.

The court concluded that the defendant used the invention without the permission of the rights holder.

At the time the case was considered, Article 1406.1 of the Civil Code allowed the rights holder to demand compensation ranging from 10 thousand to 5 million rubles for infringement of the exclusive right to an invention.

Sibtermo-2 LLC claimed the maximum compensation — RUB 5 million.

In determining the amount of compensation, the court took into account the nature of the infringement, the duration of the unlawful use of the technology, the degree of the infringer’s fault, the probable losses of the rights holder and the defendant’s conduct during the court proceedings.

The economic effect of the unlawful use of the technology was of particular importance. According to the calculation submitted by the plaintiff, the use of the invention allowed the defendant to obtain savings of over RUB 16 million for the period from January to August 2017 alone.

As a result, the court awarded all RUB 5 million claimed — the maximum compensation provided by the applied legal norm.

Nikolay Nemkov represented the interests of Sibtermo-2 LLC in the Commercial Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Арбитражный суд Красноярского края).

The work within the case included building the evidence base, participating in the patent-technical examinations, proving the actual use of the invention and substantiating the maximum amount of compensation.