A High Court judge in London ruled in favor of GE in a patent infringement dispute with Siemens Gamesa. The dispute involved the design of the GE Haliade-X offshore wind turbine.
In its lawsuit against GE, Siemens Gamesa claimed that the Haliade-X infringed on its European patent related to the use of bearings in wind turbine rotor hubs.
GE denied the infringement and said that the patent was invalid.
The judge agreed and ruled that the patent is invalid and that neither the fully assembled Haliade-X nor its hub fall within the patent’s scope of claims.
An appeal hearing could take place in early January.
This lawsuit is separate from one in the U.S. that Siemens Gamesa won. GE is in the process of appealing that case.
GE was quoted in local news report as saying that the High Court ruling backed up its claims that the technology in the Haliade-X is different from other patented technology, and that the patent should not have been issued in the first place.
