Longhi (Netherlands) Trading B.V. v. Hanwa Solutions Corporation, PI Judge District Court Rotterdam, 1 October 2021, Case no. ECLI:NL:RBROT:2021:9551

Proceedings regarding solar panels. Longhi’s solar panels are stored in the Netherlands and distributed worldwide from the Netherlands. A cross border injunction is issued against Longi forbidding Longi to infringe Hanwa’s patents, or to be involved with such infringement. The injunction is not based on patent infringement (the Netherlands is not one of the designated countries of the patent), but is based on unlawful act.

The PI judge rules that it is plausible that the Opposition Division will maintain the Patent in the form as currently defended by Hanwa. That the Patent in suit is infringed abroad is also sufficinetly plausible. The PI judge refers to the judgment of the experienced judges in the Landgericht Düsseldorf with respect to infringement. Hanwa has an interest in an injunction, as Longhi threatens to facilitate patent infringement in various countries.

The PI judge forbids Longhi to to provoke, promote, facilitate, and/or profit (consciously, systematically and calculatingly) from such infringement in various European countries.

The judgment (in Dutch) can be read here.