ThyssenKrupp Elevator Prevails in Patent Lawsuit

FRISCO, Texas, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 4, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware issued judgment against Inventio in a lawsuit Inventio brought against ThyssenKrupp Elevator back in 2008 for infringement of US patent 6,892,861 ("Destination Call Control for Modernizing Elevator Installation") and US patent 6,935,465 ("Method for Modernization of an Elevator Installation"). Both patents involve the use of a temporary overlay during an elevator modernization, which provides destination dispatch functionality to existing controls. ThyssenKrupp Elevator stated from the inception of the lawsuit that its Destination Dispatch Overlay product used in modernizations did not infringe either of these patents and furthermore, that the patents were invalid. The Court agreed on both points. It is interesting to note that the technology at issue has been used for a significant period of time in conventional elevator modernizations, and thus it appears the patents should have never been issued, as they did not introduce anything "inventive."

About ThyssenKrupp Elevator

ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas is the largest producer of elevators in the Americas, with over 14,000 employees, more than 200 branch and service locations, and sales of over 2.5 billion US dollars. ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas oversees all business for the operations in the USA, Canada, Central and South America. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG. The Elevator Technology business area brings together the ThyssenKrupp Group's global activities in passenger transportation systems. With 42,500 employees, sales of 5.3 billion euros in fiscal 2008/2009 and customers in 150 countries, ThyssenKrupp Elevator is one of the world's leading elevator companies.

ThyssenKrupp USA, Inc. and its subsidiaries account for approximately 17,000 employees and annual sales of USD$6.5 billion in fiscal year 2008/2009. Through its predecessor companies, ThyssenKrupp has been part of the U.S. industrial landscape for over 170 years.

Access: www.thyssenkruppelevator.com

SOURCE ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas