After a week-long trial, a jury has found that Haldex "willfully infringed" upon the Bendix and Knorr-Bremse U.S. patent rights to an improved air disc brake design used on tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles.


The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio confirmed and expanded upon a September jury verdict in favor of Bendix - Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, and Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC - as well as the Munich-based Knorr-Bremse Group, in their air disc brake patent infringement lawsuit brought against Haldex Brake Products Corp. This week, the court imposed a permanent injunction against Haldex and rejected their request to continue ongoing sales of the infringing air disc brake product.

Triple damages and attorney fees were also awarded to Bendix, recognized within the commercial vehicle industry as a strong advocate of intellectual property protection. The permanent injunction against Haldex prevents the company from selling air disc brake products in the U.S. that utilize the patent-protected technology.