The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio this week confirmed and expanded upon a September jury verdict in favor of Bendix – Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, and Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC – as well as the Munich-based Knorr-Bremse Group, in their air disc brake patent infringement lawsuit brought against Haldex Brake Products Corp. The court imposed a permanent injunction against Haldex and rejected their request to continue ongoing sales of the infringing air disc brake product.
After a weeklong trial, the jury found that Haldex “willfully infringed” upon the Bendix and Knorr-Bremse U.S. patent rights to an improved air disc brake design used on tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles. Triple damages and attorney fees were also awarded to Bendix, recognized within the commercial vehicle industry as a strong advocate of intellectual property protection. The permanent injunction against Haldex prevents the company from selling air disc brake products in the U.S. that utilize the patent-protected technology. Bendix and Knorr-Bremse were represented in the action by Crowell & Moring LLP.
