Courts in Paris, France, and Bologna, Italy, are currently hearing a lawsuit brought by Henri Guenoun, the inventor and holder of the patents relating to ‘stretch leather’ and its exclusive licensee, J M Marthens SA, against the companies of the DuPont de Nemours group.
Goods infringing the patents were confiscated from DuPont de Nemours at the French Premiere Vision trade fair on March 2, 2001, and at Lineapelle in Bologna on May 2, 2001.
Guenoun had been negotiating with DuPont for almost three years to allow DuPont to use his invention, but when DuPont refused to accept the licensing conditions, Guenoun ended the discussions. It was then that Guenoun discovered that DuPont had launched a large public relations campaign in which they claimed the invention as their own.
