South Korean company’s Doosan Bobcat's North American unit has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Caterpillar (CAT) and dealer Holt Texas in multiple jurisdictions.
Bobcat alleges that Caterpillar’s dozers, excavators, and other equipment incorporate features that infringe patents related to machine control and manoeuvrability, reported Reuters.
Legal representation for Doosan Bobcat is being provided by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and The Dacus Firm.
Bobcat began operations in 1947 as Melroe Manufacturing Company in North Dakota, US, and was acquired by South Korea-based Doosan in 2007.
The company has a presence in compact equipment manufacturing and attributes widespread industry adoption of small-format machines to its early developments.
Bobcat’s product range includes machinery used across sectors such as construction, landscaping, forestry, and agriculture.
The lawsuit filed yesterday (2 December) in the US District Court for the District
of Eastern Texas involves infringement of different patents associated with certain skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, and components.
In the complaint, Bobcat said that “CAT was a late arrival to the skid-steer loader market. It did not begin manufacturing skid-steer loaders until 1999, roughly 40 years after Bobcat created the market."
“Rather than innovate itself, CAT has chosen to take the innovations of Bobcat to attempt to unfairly compete with Bobcat in the skid-steer and broader compact equipment market. This has unfortunately been a pattern for CAT."
The company further alleged “CAT’s use of so many of Bobcat’s patented technologies is consistent with its pattern and practice of identifying and emulating the key features in its competitors’ products.”
Bobcat is requesting monetary damages and is seeking an order from the trade commission to block imports of the equipment it alleges infringes on its intellectual property.
In addition to its actions in the US, it is reported that Bobcat has lodged related complaints against Caterpillar in a German district court and at the EU's Unified Patent Court.
Meanwhile, Bobcat spokesperson Nadine Erckenbrack told Reuters that the legal actions are intended to “protect our patented technologies, defend fair competition, and safeguard the innovation and craftsmanship that have defined our company for more than 65 years.”
