Vorwerk has obtained a sales ban against the Thermomix clone Monsieur Cuisine Connect in court. Provider Lidl is now apparently avoiding this with a trick.
Monsieur Cuisine Connect5 (Source: netzwelt)
- Vorwerk has obtained a sales ban for the Lidl kitchen machine Monsieur Cuisine Connect from the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
- This is said to infringe a Thermomix patent from Vorwerk.
- Lidl is now selling the device in a modified version.
Vorwerk is known for the Thermomix food processor, and with the Monsieur Cuisine Connect, Lidl offers a cheap clone of this. The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court has now ruled that their sale is prohibited in Germany for the time being.
As “Der Spiegel” reports, the discounter’s device is said to infringe Vorwerk’s thick-film heating technology patent, according to the court. A similar patent dispute between Vorwerk and Lidl in Spain was previously decided in Lidl’s favour.
Despite the verdict, Vorwerk is threatened with further competition from the Monsieur Cuisine Connect in Germany as well. According to the description in the online shop, Lidl now sells it with a “modified heating element”, which should no longer infringe the patent.
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