Teradyne Robotics scored a first courtroom win against Chinese rival Elite Robots, with the Hamburg Regional Court issuing a preliminary injunction against the German subsidiary of the Elite Robots group. The order bars Elite Robots Germany from offering or distributing the contested software and any product embedding it, pending a final ruling on the copyright case.
Hamburg ruling and disclosure obligations
Teradyne Robotics filed suit in March, alleging copyright infringement on software developed by Universal Robots, one of the brands inside the US group’s robotics business unit alongside autonomous mobile robot specialist MiR. Under the German court’s decision, Elite Robots Germany must also disclose detailed information on the alleged acts of infringement, including the names of clients who received the software.
Teradyne Robotics signalled it intends to extend legal action to any distributor or partner that continues to offer the disputed product. “We chose to take a firm stand against any competitor copying the design of our hardware or our proprietary software,” Teradyne Robotics president Jean-Pierre Hathout said, adding that the company sees the evidence as compelling even though the ruling is not final.
IP enforcement in the cobot market
The case lands as competition intensifies between Western and Chinese collaborative-robot vendors, with European warehouse and manufacturing customers as the prize. A confirmed software infringement finding could reshape distribution agreements across the EU cobot market and force Elite Robots to redesign its product line for Europe.
