GEW (EC) Limited, the manufacturer of UV curing
systems for printing, coating and converting applications, today pronounced a
stern warning against potential patent infringements.
“At GEW innovation has been the driving force ever
since the company started over 25 years ago as a small enterprise in Surrey,
England.” explains Malcolm Rae, GEW’s Managing Director, “We have invested
significant resources in product design and our manufacturing facility, and the
ability to create exciting new technologies has made GEW a front-runner in our
industry.”
As the market leading designer and manufacturer of
UV systems for the labelling and narrow web printing industries, GEW (EC)
Limited invests heavily in research and innovation. Its proprietary technology
is protected by intellectual property rights in a number of countries around
the world, including the UK, USA and in Europe.
In particular, GEW is the owner of a UK Patent (GB
2495161), a European Patent (EP 2 709 849) and US Patent (No. 8,984,764) which
protect technology embodied in GEW's E2C UV curing unit. The E2C unit uses an
innovative system of actively air-cooled shutter technology that result in the
most powerful low energy UV curing system available for narrow web presses. As
the owner of these patents, GEW has the exclusive right to use and supply this
technology in the territories covered by those patents.
GEW has recently become aware that a Chinese
company, Hot Good (HK) Co., Ltd, (known as HGUV) is manufacturing a UV curing
unit which is being installed on printing presses manufactured by Brotech
Graphic Co. Ltd which utilises GEW's patented technology without GEW's consent.
The purchase, import or use of the HGUV curing unit (or a printing press on
which it has been installed) within any of the territories covered by GEW's
patents is highly likely to infringe GEW's patent rights. GEW takes any
potential infringement of its intellectual property seriously. The company will
actively investigate breaches of its patents and will file claims if
infringements are identified.
Rae concludes: “We have an obligation to defend our
intellectual property when we believe it has been infringed. Today’s
clarification is a necessary measure to defend our valuable assets and
expertise that our customers rely on for industry-leading UV curing technology.
The message to our clients and the industry is, GEW will continue doing what
we’ve always done best: develop robust innovative solutions to improve
performance, efficiency and reliability of UV curing equipment. GEW will continue
to offer unique solutions for the global benefit of businesses in the printing
industry.”
GEW designs and manufactures LED and mercury arc UV
curing systems for the printing and coating industries and is now the fastest
growing UV LED supplier. GEW UV systems are designed for operation in the most
challenging conditions and come with a comprehensive 5-year warranty unique in
its industry. Besides its headquarters and factory in England, GEW owns
subsidiaries in the Germany and the United States, and operates a network of
international distributors.
