Deere-Wirtgen Settle Patent Dispute With Caterpillar Over Road Construction Equipment

Deere-Wirtgen Settle Patent Dispute With Caterpillar Over Road Construction Equipment

Earlier, a jury decided that the machinery manufacturer infringed copyrights and owed $12.9 million in damages

Deere & Co’s subsidiary Wirtgen America has resolved a patent lawsuit against Caterpillar Inc after winning a $12.9 million verdict against the rival heavy-equipment company over road building technology.

In a joint statement, Wirtgen and Caterpillar stated that they had settled the dispute and requested the District Court for the District of Delaware to dismiss the case.

In 2017, Wirtgen alleged in a lawsuit that Caterpillar's road-milling machines, which remove road surfaces before repaving them, infringed several patents related to ‘cold milling’ (a technology for rehabilitating road surfaces).

Early this year, a jury decided that Caterpillar willfully infringed Wirtgen's patents and owed $12.9 million in damages.

District Judge Joshua Wolson added $6.5 million to the award last and issued a permanent ban on sales of the infringing machines after finding that Caterpillar "deliberately copied Wirtgen’s machines and continued its infringement though it should have stopped."

Earlier, Wirtgen had also appealed before the International Trade Commission (ITC) accusing Caterpillar's machines of infringing its patents.

In 2019, the Commission banned imports of the machines though from 2021, the Customs and Border Protection allowed the redesigned versions to enter the country.