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ARTICLE · 31 JULY 2013

Swarovski's Marksman Hits The Right Target – Why Leica Should Define The Correct Problem To Be Solved

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At the Patents Court before Vos J, Swarovski-Optik brought patent infringement proceedings against Leica Camera, who challenged the validity of Swarovski's patent.

United KingdomIntellectual Property
Leagh-Anne Thomas
Leagh-Anne Thomas
Richard Pratt
Richard Pratt

Swarovski-Optik KG v Leica Camera AG [2013] EWHC 1227.

Summary

At the Patents Court before Vos J, Swarovski-Optik brought patent infringement proceedings against Leica Camera, who challenged the validity of Swarovski's patent. The patent related to riflescopes. The judgment focused on the importance of identifying the skilled person and defining the correct problem for the skilled person to solve.

Background

A riflescope consists of an inverting optics system (relay) between objective and eyepiece optics systems. A first image is formed between the objective and inverting systems. A second image is formed between the inverting and eyepiece systems. The inverting system is needed for magnifying and flipping the image of the target being viewed, so that the target image is the right way up as seen through the riflescope. The image is formed over a curved surface, also referred to as field curvature, and the edges of the image can appear deteriorated.

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