19th Jan: Ethical coffee company a rival firm of Nestle started by Jean-Paul Gaillard making compatible biodegradable capsule for Nespresso coffee machines sued Nestle on Monday of about 150 million euros ($174 million) in the French court for patent infringement and damages caused by Nestle.
Nestle is world leading food and beverage company and also has a share of the multi-billion dollar in single serve coffee market. Nescafe holds the patent of Nespresso ownership in the conceptual model till the time, it expires. ECC is claiming that Nescafe infringed the patent by introducing “Harpoon Mechanism” to their popular ranges of domestic coffee machines. Because of which ECC’S coffee capsules has stopped working properly creating loss to them. ECC claims it by presenting violation of European Patent that is held by them.
The patents Nescafe was holding got expired in 2010, which made ECC to claim that nestle modified Nespresso coffee machines are designed to keep competitors’ pod out of them with their harpoon mechanism in a new range of pixie, which jams the other pods making way to vendor lock-in.
ECC said: this attempt went against its patent and demands for the necessary compensation of 150 million Euros to pay after immediately stopping this illegal usage done by Nescafe group.
It is also heard that ECC will surely check and continue these similar steps in other countries if such violations are found.
Whereas Nespresso denied any kind of infringement of patent and said that it will fight in court.
Nespresso said: that they are confident of not infringing any patent and will continue to oppose the patent at the EPO (European patent office) and will fight before the French court, however ECC believes that their products are better tasting than Nescafe and believe superior because they make biodegradable coffee Capsule/Pods.
ECC might have started making claims, but Nescafe is also standing to fight against the infringement created by the Ethical coffee company.
