Geoplast final win at the European Patent Office

7 November 2023

Geoplast final win at the European Pantent Office

On 17 October 2023, the Appeal Board of the European Patent Office (EPO) held an oral hearing in Munich and confirmed the validity of Geoplast’s European patent EP 1 538 277 B1 (Appeal number T2759/19-3.2.03). EP 1 538 277 B1 protects a reusable modular formwork made of recycled plastic material with an improved and special structure of the ribs as you can find, e.g. in our “Geopanel”.

Following the oral hearing, the Board of Appeal upheld the interlocutory decision of the opposition division wherein EP 1 538 277 B1 was upheld with Geoplast’s auxiliary request 6. The appeals of both Geoplast and the opponent Peri SE (“Peri”) were consequently dismissed. The written reasons of the Board of Appeal are not yet available.

The victory affirms Geoplast’s long-standing efforts to confirm the validity of EP 1 538 277 B1.

Patent protection history

In 2005, Geoplast launched the first ever Geopanel recycled plastic formwork. Geopanel changed the construction industry from its core offering an alternative to wood and metal formwork panels.

In 2019, The Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) found in first instance that Mirco Pegoraro’s patent EP 1 538 177 B1 is inventive in view of Geoplast’s auxiliary request 6.

In 2023, the Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) confirmed the decision of the Opposition Division and brought a judgment that Geoplast’s patent is valid in accordance with Geoplasts’s auxiliary claim 6.

We are the true innovators

The EPO’s judgment is yet another affirmation that Geoplast’s patent EP 1 538 177 B1 is valid.

This means that the clients who work with us are participating in the authentic innovation that comes from the hearts and minds of true innovators – us and our customers. We, as an innovative company in the field of manufacturing a wide range of formwork or foundation solutions, invest in the research and development of our product portfolio in order to provide customers with improvements and innovative, new products.