Q: Does this patent also forbid companies in Europe to create MagLev doors? How long will this patent be valid?
Company in the Netherlands that wants to produce maglev doors
A:
First, let me applaud your desire to avoid infringement of patent rights. It is smart to be careful about impinging on the rights of others.
To answer your question, someone would need to look and see what relevant patents are issued in Europe. Not every company seeks patent protection in all countries in Europe. Sometimes they just obtain patents in Germany, Great Britain, and one or two other countries. Other times, the filing is in many European countries.
Some products are covered by two or more patents so the amount of work could be significant. Sometimes the patent rights are owned by a third party and licensed to the manufacturer.
On the other hand, it is possible that a patent does not exist that impacts the Netherlands and you can make and sell the product now as long as you do not export the product to a country that has a non-expired patent.
This is not the sort of question that can be answered on a forum like this. I suggest that you have your business attorney refer you to a local patent attorney firm for them to do the detailed work you need.
Kevin E Flynn
Timothy John Billick agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
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