European Patent Office News

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has created an international research award to honor Hubertus von Gruenberg, who is stepping down after eight years as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The award is intended to encourage world-class research in ABB’s main fields of operation: power and automation, as applied in utilities, industries, and transport and infrastructure. The “ABB Research Award in Honor of Hubertus von Gruenberg” recognizes outstanding PhD research that makes creative use of software, electronics and/or new materials, to pave the way towards groundbreaking industrial solutions. It includes a $300,000 grant for post-doctoral research and is open to PhD graduates from any university specializing in research in power or automation.

As previously announced, Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has issued claims against Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) in the High Court of Justice, Patent Court, in London, UK, and in Norwegian courts on the basis that PGS used its Towed Streamer EM in the territory of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway in violation of one of EMGS' patents. On 13 February 2015, EMGS received the decision of the Oslo City Court where EMGS' patent is found to be invalid. EMGS has decided to appeal the decision. EMGS successfully defended the patent against claims of invalidity from Schlumberger Holding Ltd in the Netherlands, in February 2008 and in the UK Court of Appeal in July 2010 and through several oppositions in the European Patent Office appeal division in December 2011.

Thomson Reuters recognizes ABB as a Top 100 Global Innovator, honoring ABB’s commitment to drive innovations, commercialization and intellectual property protection. This award recognizes companies around the world for their outstanding commitment to global innovation, the protection of ideas and the commercialization of inventions. “This award is a strong endorsement of our focus to develop innovative solutions for automation, energy efficiency and the power grid,” said ABB CEO, Ulrich Spiesshofer. Over the last year, ABB has announced several innovation milestones including a combined low-voltage circuit breaker and energy manager…

Nautical Control Solutions, LP (NCS) announced that its FuelTrax Marine Fuel Management system has been granted patent protection by the European Patent Office (EPO). The EPO is a member of the Trilateral Cooperation established in 1983 between the European, Japanese, and United States patent offices. The FuelTrax EU patent includes these countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Greece. Mr.

E-MS receives protection-rights by the European patent office for its power supply systems for ships & offshore platforms. The company develops and realizes diesel- and gas-electric power supply and propulsion systems with un-synchronized generators, a common DC energy bus bar and water-cooled high-tech converters. For this technology, that runs under the product name E-PP (Electric Power Packs), the company applied at the European patent- office for corresponding protection-rights, which lately were given under the number 2090508 dating from January 16, 2008. E-MS has installed its systems onboard eight river cruise vessels, which were classified by Germanischer Lloyd. The company states that some more ships with such installations are in the planning phase and under construction.

In the invention devised by Langh Ship, steel coils are transported on tweendecks that are equipped with integrated cradles. The method was granted a Finnish patent in 2001 and it has now passed the European Patent Office's inspection, which ascertained that the innovation's novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability meet the requirements of the European Patent Convention. The invention thus received a European patent, which can be registered in all countries signatory to the European Patent Agreement. Cradle tweendecks facilitate steel coil loading, shipment and unloading at the port of destination. The system even enables fully automated cargo handling in the port and it can be used to optimize vessel stability, reduce cargo damage and fuel consumption.

According to GlobalSantaFe Corporation, a Houston jury has returned a verdict upholding the dual drilling activity patents of Transocean Inc. and ordered GlobalSantaFe to pay damages of $3.6m for using the patented structures on two of its offshore rigs. The jury also found that GlobalSantaFe willfully infringed the patents, which gives the court the discretion to enhance the damage award. The trial, which began last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, addressed the use of the patented structures only within U.S. territorial waters. In June 2006, the European Patent Office revoked Transocean's dual activity patent claims.