De Beers Group hails win in synthetic diamond patent suit
A subsidiary of the global diamond corporation De Beers Group has claimed victory in a patent infringement suit in Singapore.
De Beers-owned Element Six sued Singaporean company Ila Technologies in 2016, alleging infringement of a patent covering the method of manufacturing Element Six’s synthetic diamond material.
In a judgment issued last week, the High Court of Singapore found that Ila infringed Element Six’s patent, the company said.
The patent (Singapore number 115872) covers a method of producing material used in both laboratory-grown jewellery products, as well as laser-optics.
Ila’s Singapore facility, opened in 2015, has been described as the “world’s largest diamond greenhouse”.
The Singaporean company was also named in a lawsuit brought last month by the Carnegie Institute of Washington, which also owns diamond-related patents.
The High Court’s decision was not a complete victory for Element Six, as the High Court also found another of the company’s patents, covering the treatment of CVD synthetic diamonds, to be invalid.
Walter Hühn, chief executive of Element Six, welcomed the High Court’s ruling.
“We will continue to be vigilant for any other potential infringement of our IP rights around the globe, and we will defend our rights vigorously–just as any company would–because protecting our ability to get a full return on our investment in R&D is vital to our future,” Hühn said.
Element Six supplies synthetic diamond material to another De Beers Group brand, Lightbox Jewelry, which sells finished lab-grown jewellery products.
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