Unilin Technologies, a global leader in flooring innovation, stands firm in its dedication to protecting its extensive SPC patent portfolio. On January 30, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ruled that a specific non-foamed SPC product from a single Vilox licensee is not covered by the three patents asserted in the 2019 Unilin ITC action. US Customs and Border Protection however agreed with Unilin’s argumentation that the ruling should be limited to the unique non-foamed SPC sample Vilox presented to CBP. Unilin already filed a district court complaint against Vilox based on different patents within their SPC portfolio.
"The recent CBP decision is not very relevant for the current market situation,” according to Bart Van der Stockt, President of Unilin Technologies. “The three patents asserted in the 2019 ITC action were selected based on alleged infringing products at that time. Vilox was not active at that moment so SPC products with Vilox technology were not considered during the patent selection. Unilin’s SPC/LVT patent portfolio is more extensive than those three ITC patents and we have already taken action against Vilox based on other patents within that portfolio. In addition, the ruling is limited to the specific non-foamed SPC product sample at issue. This means that US Customs’ duty, to check every shipment that comes in the US market on compliance with our General Exclusion Order, has not changed.”
Unilin’s SPC/LVT patent portfolio consists of 120 granted US patents and 45 US patent applications in total, covering various technological aspects crucial to the success of SPC technology. On January 24, 2024, Unilin filed a complaint against Vilox based on patents of this SPC patent portfolio which were not included in the 2019 ITC action.
Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers are encouraged to engage with Unilin for comprehensive legal guidance and protection within the patent landscape of SPC technology.
