LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Following the ruling from the European Patent Office, Nespresso issue the following statement.
“Nestlé Nespresso SA acknowledges the decision today of the Appeals Board of the European Patent Office (EPO) to revoke a patent related to the Nespresso system. The decision overrules a decision by the EPO from April 2012, which maintained the patent in an amended form.
We believe that the decision fails to recognise the unique innovations inherent in the design of the Nespresso system.
While disappointing, the ruling does not have any impact on the current competitive situation.
Nespresso has brought legal cases against producers of generic capsules, although there are currently no prohibitions on their sale based on this patent. The decision, therefore, does not change the status quo.
The protection of our intellectual property is an important component of our business strategy. However, our success will continue to be driven by our ability to exceed consumer expectations by delivering products and services of exceptional quality.
This focus has allowed us to maintain our position as the reference in the portioned coffee category and it is why consumers continue to choose the unique Nespresso experience over the 100 other portioned coffee offerings in the market globally.
We will await the written decision of the EPO ruling before determining next steps in the pending legal cases.”
Nespresso stressed that the ruling has no practical impact on current competitive market situation.
