After Rottefella was victorious last summer in a patent lawsuit against Amer Sports and its Salomon and Atomic brands, the Norwegian Supreme Court has now rejected Amer’s appeal, bringing the long-standing patent dispute over an adjustable cross-country ski binding system to a final judgment. The CEO of Rottefella, Torstein Myklebostad, believes that the ruling will be important for all innovation-oriented companies. The legal dispute centered on the Move mobile binding system, which Rottefella launched in 2018 after several years of product development. “This judgment has an effect outside of protecting Rottefella’s technology; it will have great significance for innovation-driven businesses in all sectors,“ said Myklebostad.
Rottefella’s Move system was developed to adjust the ski binding easily to achieve better grip or glide without taking off the skis. The invention is protected by Rottefella’s own patent and an additional patent licensed by Madshus. When Rottefella’s competitors Salomon and Atomic launched a similar product less than three years later, Rottefella and Madshus sued the parent company Amer Sports for patent infringement. In June 2022, the Oslo District Court ruled entirely in favor of Rottefella and Madshus. Amer Sports appealed the ruling, but the Court of Appeal reached the same conclusion as the District Court in June 2023. The Norwegian Supreme Court has now dismissed Amer Sports’ appeal and the case is finally closed.
Rottefella and Madshus were awarded damages of 9.2 million Norwegian krones (€787,000) and a total of NOK 10 million (€856,000) in legal costs.
