Gucci does not infringe Agfa leather printing patent

Printing company Agfa sued luxury goods brand Gucci for patent infringement. The case concerns Agfa’s patent EP 3 388 490, which covers a manufacturing method for embellishing natural leather with decorative images. This represents a key future field for Agfa.

The company accused Gucci of using this method to decorate leather products, with the patent dispute centring on Gucci’s Pikarar Collection. The UPC’s local division Hamburg rejected both the infringement action and the counterclaim for revocation (case ID: ACT_561734/2023).

The local division Hamburg, under presiding judge Sabine Klepsch, found the infringement action admissible but unfounded. Similarly, while the counterclaim for revocation was admissible, it did not succeed. In its detailed reasoning, the division analysed the interpretation of patent claims, following the approach established by the UPC in cases such as NanoString vs 10x Genomics.

First UPC case against luxury fashion industry

The critical point in interpreting this patent was that certain terms must be understood differently in the patent context compared to everyday usage. Consequently, the division did not accept Agfa’s interpretation on all points and therefore found no infringement by Gucci. While an appeal remains possible, the luxury fashion industry can breathe easier for now.

A team led by Dutch lawyer Daan de Lange and German lawyer Kai Rüting represented Belgian company Agfa. It was the first company to retain the new cooperating outfit Vossius Brinkhof UPC Litigators. Agfa is a long-standing client of Brinkhof.

The team also included Stefan Fickert, Ananda Landwehr, Leonie Dissmann-Fuchs, Elard Schenck zu Schweinsberg, Isabelle Kleinveld, and Alexander de Leeuw.

Hans Louis Strijckers handled the case in-house as head of department.

The defendants comprise nine different subsidiaries of luxury brand manufacturer Gucci. A Munich team from Hogan Lovells represented Gucci, led by Benjamin Schröer as infringement lead and Andreas Schmid as validity lead.

The team also included Luigi Mansani and Giovanni Trabucco from the Milan office, as well as Alexander Lebschy and Markus Wypchol from Munich. The client relationship began through soft IP work.