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European Central Bank in bank note patent infringement

Document Security Systems (DSS), a US security tech company has suffered a setback in its IP infringement case against the European Central Bank (ECB). The First Instance of the European Court of Justice (CFI) declined to accept jurisdiction in the case.

DSS sued the ECB in August 2005, suggesting that the process of manufacturing banknotes by the ECB infringed their patent (0455750B1) on anti-counterfeiting technology.

The ECB subsequently argued the CFI was not the correct venue for the case and filed a series of lawsuits seeking to cancel the patent in national courts in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and the UK.

To further confound DSS, the English High Court ruled that the patent was invalid, whereas the German Federal Patent Court confirmed that it was valid.

Larry Cohen from McDermott Will & Emery, acting on behalf of DSS said that the company does have the option of appealing the CFI’s decision.  He did say that DSS were to "take every step to advance infringement proceedings in Germany".

The ECB is not alone in finding themselves with allegations of IP infringement.  Many other banks and financial organisations have been involved in similar disputes.

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