Today, the High Court in London, England ordered to revoke the UK designation of the Fameccanica.Data SpA patent EP1355604. The patent relates to a diaper including side panels constructed from stretchable trilaminate materials made breathable by the use of ultrasonic bonding and to a method of making that trilaminate.

In response to the claim to invalidate the Patent by Curt G. Joa, Inc., Fameccanica applied to amend it and acknowledged that the patent should be revoked if the application failed. The High Court has held that the amendments had no basis in the patent or the application it derived from and dismissed the application to amend. The Judge held that the proposed amended claims would have made no sense.

In considering the applications to amend the patent, the court held that the invention that was disclosed in the patent and the application from which it derived involved the use of ultrasonic bonding to bond a nonwoven – elastic film – nonwoven laminate and to form holes through all three layers thereby making that laminate breathable. The court rejected Fameccanica’s contention that the patent described the formation of a hole through the elastic layer but not the nonwoven layers.

In response, Fameccanica released the following statement:

In December 2015, Curt G. Joa, Inc. brought proceedings in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in London, England for the revocation of the United Kingdom designation of Fameccanica.Data Spa’s European Patent No. 1 355 604 (“Patent”). Judgment was delivered today by His Honour Judge Hacon, who heard the trial in April 2017.

The Patent relates to the ultrasonic bonding of diapers to give breathable and stretchable side panels, making them more comfortable for the wearer. During the proceedings, Fameccanica applied to amend the Patent to clarify the invention it claims. In today’s judgment, the judge held that the amended claims were not allowable since they would result in the specification disclosing additional matter and would lack clarity, but also that, had they been allowable, the Patent would stand valid over the prior art cited by Joa.

In the circumstances, Fameccanica points out that all of the other counterparts of the Patent remain valid and in force and that it is currently evaluating those actions necessary to protect its intellectual property and business interest.