Caselaw Digest
Caselaw Digest

Cloud Cycle Limited v Verifi LLC & Anor

7 February 2024
[2024] EWHC 233 (IPEC)
High Court
Two companies fought over a patent for a system that measures how runny concrete is in a truck. One company (CCL) wanted the judge to quickly decide it wasn't breaking the patent. The other company (GCP) wanted the judge to stop CCL immediately. The judge said both sides needed a full trial because the technology was complicated and deciding quickly could harm one of the companies too much. CCL was a small company, and stopping it would hurt it much more than the slight risk to GCP.

Key Facts

  • •Cloud Cycle Limited (CCL) sought summary judgment in its claim for a declaration of non-infringement of European Patent (UK) No. 1 720 689.
  • •Verifi LLC and GCP Applied Technologies (UK) Limited counterclaimed for infringement and sought an interim injunction.
  • •The patent relates to a method and system for calculating and reporting slump in concrete delivery trucks.
  • •CCL's system allegedly differs from the patented system in that it does not delete previously stored measurements.
  • •The dispute centred on the interpretation of claim 1 of the patent and the doctrine of equivalents.
  • •CCL's financial position was described as precarious.
  • •GCP's license for the patent was royalty-free.

Legal Principles

Threshold test for interim injunctions: 'serious question to be tried' and 'real prospect of success at trial'.

American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd [1975] AC 396

Summary judgment in patent cases: generally inappropriate due to the need for expert evidence on claim construction and infringement, unless the issues are straightforward.

Nampak Plastics Europe Ltd v Alpla UK Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 1293; Shenzhen Carku Technology Co, Ltd v The Noco Company [2020] EWHC 2104 (Pat); Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd v Delta Airways Inc [2011] EWCA Civ 162

Doctrine of equivalents: infringement can be found even if the claims are not literally infringed, if the differences are non-essential.

Actavis UK Limited v Eli Lilly and Company [2017] UKSC 48

Interim injunctions: balance of convenience, irreparable harm, and the ability to compensate.

American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd [1975] AC 396; National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd v Olint Corpn Ltd (Jamaica) [2009] UKPC 16

Outcomes

CCL's application for summary judgment was dismissed.

The court found that the issues of claim construction and potential infringement by equivalence were not suitable for summary determination due to the need for expert evidence and clarification of the parties' cases.

Verifi and GCP's application for an interim injunction was dismissed.

While GCP faced potential irreparable harm from price depression due to CCL's lower-priced system, the court found that the risk of substantial harm was relatively low, particularly considering the short timeframe until trial and the potential for calculating damages. The court considered the greater potential harm to CCL's precarious financial position if an injunction was granted.

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