W&H secures victory in patent infringement case against Chinese manufacturer
Under the terms of the agreement, the Chinese manufacturer will permanently cease production and distribution of the infringing machines and will pay agreed-upon damages.
01 Sep 2025 | 532 Views | By Treya Sinha
Windmoller & Holscher (W&H) has concluded a patent dispute with a Chinese manufacturer, asserting its intellectual property rights concerning its Convertex machine for manufacturing woven bags.
The resolution involved eight patents critical to the Convertex technology, covering nearly the entire production chain, from material perforation to the ejection of defective bags. Dr Falco Paepenmuller, CEO of Windmoller & Holscher, said, "We are satisfied with the outcome of this dispute and feel vindicated." He added, "As a technology leader, we make continuous and substantial investments in research and development. The resulting innovations and technologies are a central component of our success and are protected by patents."
Dr Paepenmuller emphasized W&H's commitment to protecting its intellectual property. "We take great care to ensure that our intellectual property rights are protected and take consistent action against patent infringements. This approach ensures that our customers benefit from our long-term competitive advantage in the field of innovation."
Under the terms of the agreement, the Chinese manufacturer will permanently cease production and distribution of the infringing machines and will pay agreed-upon damages. While W&H chose not to pursue legal action against purchasers and users of the systems in this particular instance, Dr Sascha Witt, W&H chief sales officer, underscored the company's future stance: "We reserve the right to take legal action against other users of unlawfully used technologies in future cases – to protect our customers who invest in patented technology."
The defendant admitted to infringing at least one claim in each of the eight patents. Dr Paepenmuller highlighted the importance of these patents, explaining, "These patents ensure key functions for achieving high production speeds, consistent bag quality and flexible format adaptation. They are therefore an essential component of our technological market leadership and represent significant added value for our customers who use the Convertex."
Dr Witt expressed satisfaction with the outcome, affirming that it safeguards W&H's innovations and benefits its customers. "Respect for intellectual property is a foundation for fair competition and sustainable innovation in our industry."