Honeywell Wins Patent Dispute Over Bendy Boom Conveyor Tech

Honeywell has won a patent dispute over its Bendy Boom conveyor technology against Dutch company Solvest and their Bosnian manufacturing partner Hemtech. The Munich-based court of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) ruled that the defendants had infringed on Honeywell's EP 2 563 695 patent, which protects a telescopic conveyor belt with a pivotable section that can be retracted and nested within an adjacent unit.

The dispute dates back to 2019 when Solvest and Honeywell subsidiary Transnorm signed a manufacturing and supply agreement. However, in February 2022, the parties replaced this agreement with a licence agreement between Honeywell International and Solvest Participatie VII covering the patent-in-suit and the Sovex trademark.

Honeywell terminated the licence in March 2024, citing missing sales reports and unpaid royalties, and subsequently pursued the infringement action at the UPC's local division Mannheim. The court granted an injunction, ordered the communication of information, and declared the defendants liable for damages.