Nikon Loses its Patent Lawsuit Against Viltrox
In January, Nikon filed a lawsuit in China against lens manufacturer Viltrox, alleging intellectual property infringement related to Nikon’s Z-mount technology. Nikon has reportedly lost that lawsuit.
As Nikon Rumors reports, a 25-page court ruling released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) outlines that a decision was actually made a couple of weeks ago, with the court ruling that Nikon’s related patents are invalid.
Nikon attempted to argue that its Z-mount bayonet design and electronic terminal structure were inventive and worthy of patent protection. Nikon was seeking some sort of compensation related to Viltrox releasing products with features and designs related to Nikon’s pending mount design patents. However, this issue and any resulting compensation rely upon the notion that Nikon’s pending patents are themselves up to the legal standard of being patented.
“Put simply, Nikon is alleging that Viltrox sold Z-mount lenses using Nikon’s protected technology before the patent was officially approved, and that payment is now owed for those past sales,” PetaPixel reported back in January.
A panel in China disagreed with Nikon’s patent assertions, determining that Nikon’s Z-mount designs do not go beyond ordinary skill in the broader landscape of lens mount designs nor do anything unusual in terms of advancing lens bayonet designs or associated technologies.
Basically, the CNIPA panel believed that Nikon’s Z-mount design and associated technology are not sufficiently novel to demand protection under Chinese patent law. As a result, Nikon lacks sufficient grounds to sue Viltrox concerning the company’s lens mount design.
Nikon Rumors has published all 25 Chinese-language pages from the CNIPA’s decision, which may prove interesting to those particularly interested in patent law, but basically, Nikon’s relevant patents have been invalidated in China and Nikon now has three months to appeal or file a new lawsuit related to the decision.
PetaPixel reached out to Nikon for comment on the result of its lawsuit against Viltrox, but as expected, the company had little to say.
“Out of respect for the judicial system, we will refrain from providing further details at this time,” Nikon tells PetaPixel.
This is at least more than Nikon said back in January, when it would neither confirm nor deny that there was any legal action in the first place.
“Nikon has always worked with officially licensed partner companies to expand the Z-mount ecosystem,” the company told PetaPixel in January. “We promote technological advancement through healthy competition and encourage the use of third-party lenses from manufacturers licensed by Nikon.”
Image creditsNikon and Viltrox
