News

Eltek Legal Action Stops ZTE Sales and Marketing of Disputed Power Converter

November 13, 2013 by Jeff Shepard

Eltek ASA announced that ZTE Norway AS, a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, has stated it will halt all sales and marketing of disputed products in Norway. This follows a legal dispute in which Eltek initiated legal action against ZTE in the Norwegian legal system, claiming patent infringement. The patent infringement issue is also under consideration at the European Patent Office. The ZTE sales and marketing halt was confirmed in a recent ruling by the Oslo district court ("tingrett"), which put the legal process on hold pending a ruling from the European Patent Office.

The product involved is Eltek’s Flatpak 2 HE. Since setting the new standard for rectifier efficiency, the Flatpack2 HE family is now available in a variety of voltages and power ratings, all with superior efficiency up to 96.5%. According to the company, with more than 4 billion in-field operating hours and a proven cumulative field MTBF of more than 1.9 million hours, Flatpack 2 HE is the only HE (High Efficiency) rectifier with a proven track record.

In the district court ruling, ZTE’s legal counsel was quoted as saying that “ZTE will not market any solution in conflict with the patent as long as it is valid.” This assurance was included as a major reason for postponing the proceedings until the European Patent Office has given its ruling.

“We are confident that we have a strong case and are very much looking forward to having it concluded in court. That said, given ZTE’s assurance we have achieved protection of our intellectual property until this matter is properly settled,” commented Morten Schøyen, chief marketing officer at Eltek. “The disputed technology represents major research and development within Eltek’s core business. We have vigorously defended our intellectual property, and I can assure all competitors that we will continue to do so in the future,” Schøyen concluded.