Industrial Machinery

All industries

LGV Avvocati has for many years assisted Italian and international companies engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of machinery, industrial plants, mechatronic components and process technologies. In a sector in which technical innovation, product reliability, trade secrets and the ability to operate in international markets are essential competitive factors, the firm provides integrated assistance in the fields of patents, utility models, designs, know-how and trade secrets, contract drafting and commercial litigation.

The firm’s experience covers interim and merits proceedings, infringement actions and actions for a declaration of non-infringement, search order proceedings, invalidity actions and proceedings before EUIPO and the General Court of the European Union, as well as the handling of cross-border disputes. The firm also assists clients in the drafting and negotiation of development, production, supply, distribution and technology transfer agreements, adopting an approach that combines the protection of innovation with the client’s commercial and operational needs.

Significant experience

• LGV Avvocati assisted an Italian company manufacturing machinery for the production of furniture components in a patent dispute concerning the technology incorporated in its machines. The firm’s work involved analysing the patent asserted, competing technical solutions and freedom-to-operate issues, in the context of a sector characterised by a high degree of process innovation and strong integration between mechanics, automation and the design of the finished product.
• The firm assisted a company manufacturing motion systems for seats, headrests and other components for the bedding sector in complex litigation concerning alleged design infringement. The dispute, which lasted approximately ten years, involved initial interim proceedings seeking an injunction, subsequent proceedings for a declaration of non-infringement, invalidity actions before EUIPO and the related appeal before the General Court of the European Union.
• The matter required a coordinated strategy across national and EU proceedings, aimed at ensuring the client’s continued production and commercial activity and at challenging the validity and scope of protection of the designs asserted by the counterparty. The matter was ultimately resolved through a settlement.
• For over twenty years, LGV Avvocati has assisted a well-known industrial group based in the Pesaro area, active internationally in the production of machines, automated systems and mechatronic components for the processing of various materials. Over time, the Group has consolidated its international presence and expanded its technology portfolio, including through the integration of further industrial businesses.
• The firm has handled numerous patent disputes, both on the claimant’s and the defendant’s side, concerning the infringement of industrial property rights, the protection of know-how and the misappropriation or unlawful use of confidential information. The firm’s assistance also includes the drafting and negotiation of commercial and technology agreements, including arrangements concerning development, production, supply, distribution, licensing and technology transfer.
• LGV Avvocati assists an Italian company engaged in the design and production of industrial plants and lines for the processing of metal coils and sheets, for both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company’s activities include solutions for cutting, levelling, finishing and processing of the material, intended for industrial users operating in various markets.
• The firm assisted the company in a dispute concerning the invalidation of a competitor’s patent, as well as in further cross-border commercial disputes, including relationships and disputes with counterparties based in Germany and Turkey. The firm’s work combined the protection of the client’s patent and competitive position with the management of the contractual and commercial implications of its international operations.
• LGV Avvocati assisted the Italian subsidiary of a European industrial group active in the manufacture of textile machinery, which had taken over the management of a historic company in the sector, in complex patent litigation brought by a competitor.
• The firm obtained, at the interim stage, the revocation of a search order, and subsequently assisted the client in the proceedings on the merits concerning a technology applied to a textile machine. The court-appointed technical expert’s opinion confirmed the client’s defences, contributing to a favourable outcome in the proceedings.