SOLVAY
14.4.2021 09:02:15 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
On April 6, 2021, Germany's Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) ruled in Solvay's favor on a patent invalidation case filed by Neo Chemicals & Oxides (Europe) Ltd. against a patent pertaining to ceric oxide products comprising catalysts for minimizing emissions of the latest generation automotive engines, and catalysts comprising such ceric oxide products.
The appeal case at the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) reverses an invalidation decision by the Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) in January 2019 related to the German designation of the patent EP 1 435 338 B1 . This appeal decision is final and conclusive (docket number X ZR 54/19 – BGH).
The Regional Court of Mannheim (Landgericht Mannheim) had already ruled in December 2017 that Neo Chemicals & Oxides (Europe) Ltd. (“Neo”) was infringing Solvay's patent by supplying certain cerium oxide materials in Germany. In its judgment, the Mannheim court prohibited Neo and two of its directors from offering, putting on the market, using, or importing (or possessing for such reasons) the infringing products in Germany. The court had further declared that Neo was liable for damages in respect of their past sales of such infringing ceric oxide products and needed to provide an accounting of their infringing activities. Neo appealed the decision to the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) in Karlsruhe in January 2018. The infringement appeal had been stayed by the Karlsruhe Court pending the decision of the Federal Court of Justice. As validity has now been finally and conclusively established, the German infringement appeal proceedings will be resumed. Moreover, Solvay will seek damages for the infringement of the patent in the German courts.
As previously announced, UK courts in two instances also found the patent to be valid and infringed by Neo. Another UK court case is underway to determine the amount of damages that Neo owes Solvay on the basis of this infringement.
Neo is part of the Chemicals and Oxides Segment of the Neo Performance Materials Inc. group. The production facilities of the Chemicals and Oxides Segment are in Zibo, China, and Sillamäe, Estonia.
Respect of intellectual property rights is essential for free and healthy competition. Solvay will continue to take action to enforce its rights against infringers. Solvay will help its customers to cope with any difficulties due to exposure to corresponding compliance risks by Neo.
About Solvay
Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 23,000 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €9 billion in 2020. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program. Learn more at www.solvay.com .
Follow us on Twitter @SolvayGroup
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210414005292/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Rubedo’s RLS-1496 Reduces Actinic Keratosis Pre-Cancerous Skin Lesions by 46% at Four Weeks with Minimal Irritation in Preliminary Results of Phase 1b/2a Study28.5.2026 14:30:00 CEST | Press release
RLS-1496 is an investigational, first-in-class, disease-modifying, selective glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) modulator that targets pathologic senescent and other stressed, aging cells that drive chronic, age-dependent diseases, such as AK, and represents a novel drug category — Adaptive SenoTherapeutics In recognition of May as Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Rubedo is calling attention to the myths and facts surrounding AKs — and to the urgent need for a new generation of treatments that are effective without the side-effect burden of today's options Rubedo Life Sciences, Inc. (Rubedo), an AI-driven, clinical-stage biotech focused on selective cellular rejuvenation medicines targeting aging cells, today announced preliminary results from a Phase 1b/2a study of RLS-1496 in patients with actinic keratosis (AK), a common age-related condition resulting in precancerous skin lesions, that is most commonly seen after age 65.1 The open-label multi-center trial, conducted in the United States,
ExaGrid Wins 5 Industry Awards at Network Computing Awards 202628.5.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
ExaGrid named “Company of the Year” for seventh year in a row ExaGrid®, the world’s largest independent backup storage vendor providing Tiered Backup Storage with the most Comprehensive Security and AI-Powered Retention Time-Lock for Ransomware Recovery, today announced that company was honored with five industry awards, including Air-gapped Ransomware Recovery Product of the Year, Bench Tested Product of the Year, Company of the Year, Data Protection Product of the Year, and the Storage Product of the Year during the Network Computing Awards ceremony, held in London on May 21, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260528849813/en/ The ExaGrid team headed to the stage five times throughout the Network Computing Awards ceremony in London to accept awards for ExaGrid Tiered Backup Storage. Photo courtesy of Network Computing Awards. The Network Computing Awards are determined by public vote. The 2026 awards mark
Ardoq Launches AI-First Enterprise Architecture Platform28.5.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Custom Agents, Omnipresent AI Assistant, and AI Import Builder Automate an Estimated 40% of Routine EA Work; Tenneco Already Achieving 292% ROI on Ardoq AI Ardoq, named a 5x Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Architecture Tools, today launched its AI-first enterprise architecture (EA) platform. The release grounds every Ardoq AI output in customers' live architecture data and introduces a new generation of AI agents capable of automating an estimated 40% of routine EA work. Architects today are being asked to defend decisions that generic AI is generating in seconds. Application rationalization choices. ERP transformation roadmaps. AI governance reviews. The questions land on the architect's desk, but the analysis underneath increasingly comes from AI assistants that do not know the architecture. Generic agents reason on whatever document is in front of them, not on the live relationships between applications, dependencies, capabilities, and risks. Ask a generic LLM
European DataWarehouse Launches DealDox®, a Next-Generation Virtual Data Room Built specifically for the Securitisation Market28.5.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
European DataWarehouse (EDW) announced today the launch of DealDox®, a secure virtual data room uniquely tailored to the needs of the securitisation and structured finance market. Developed in response to long‑standing challenges around transaction data and document management, DealDox provides a single, secure environment where all parties throughout the deal lifecycle can collaborate efficiently while maintaining high standards of security, governance, and regulatory alignment. DealDox enables the centralised management of transaction data and documentation, offering robust security, granular access controls, and clear audit trails. The platform integrates seamlessly with EDW’s existing regulatory reporting ecosystem, supporting smoother workflows from deal preparation through to disclosure and compliance. “As a market infrastructure, our role is to reduce complexity and make processes simpler and more transparent for all participants,” said Dr. Christian Thun, CEO of European DataWa
SLB and Vår Energi Expand Digital Collaboration to Scale Well and Integrated Field Development Planning28.5.2026 13:47:00 CEST | Press release
Agreement supports Vår Energi’s ambition to reduce time to first oil, building on multi-discipline, collaborative well planning workflows that reduce cycle times from months to days Global energy technology company SLB (NYSE: SLB) today announced an expanded collaboration with Vår Energi to scale well planning and integrated field development planning across its Norwegian Continental Shelf operations. With collaborative well planning already reducing cycle times from months to days and integrated field development planning expected to support similar benefits, the expanded deployment is designed to support faster, more consistent decision-making as operators work to sustain production from mature offshore assets while managing increasing development complexity. As part of the expanded collaboration, Vår Energi is deploying the Delfi™ digital platform to connect exploration, subsurface evaluation, well planning, subsea design, field development planning, and production in a cloud-native
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom