Alpinestars Isn’t Backing Down
We reported that the court ruling that Alpinestars infringed on Daixnese’s patent for its D-Air gear recently. That court ruling states that Alpinestars can’t continue to sell its Air-Tech gear in Germany and has to compensate Dainese for the infringement and recall all the gear it sold there that infringes on the patent.
According to a press release from Alpinestars and Motorcycle.com, the patent infringement pertains to the way in which Alpinestars added the airbag tech to its gear. The infringement occurred due to the placement of an air bladder inside a pocket with elastic panels. Alpinestars suggests that because this was the issue, other companies may be in violation of the patent.
Alpinestars also noted the patent EP 2 412 257 B1 is just one of three that Dianese originally brought up. Dianese withdrew one of the complaints and German courts annulled another in May of 2018. It’s only the last patent infringement that seems to hold any weight. Alpinestars says that patent is not in relation to the specifics of its Ait-Tech Technology.
Alpinestars also reiterates that this court ruling just impacts the sale of its Air-Tech gear in Germany not the rest of Europe. The company also pointed out that it has an appeal with the German Federal Court of Justice on the validity of the patent. The final decision on this court battle between the two companies has not been settled yet, and it looks like the fight will continue.