Bike brands Canyon and Cervélo have reached an amicable settlement in their legal dispute regarding the Maximus seat tube patent. Cervélo is allowed to continue manufacturing its frames using the familiar seat tube design and in return Canyon gets the right to use certain Cervélo patents.
Canyon’s European patent refers to a seat tube with a special load-bearing design which is characteristically flat on the driveside, creating clearance for a front mech and chainrings. The German manufacturer argued that Cervélo’s R3, R3SL and RS frames violated this patent.
The European Patent Office had declared the Maximus seat tube fully patentable, although it had demanded Canyon adjust its claim. It is patented in nine European countries, and corresponding patents have been granted in the USA and China.
The legal action is now settled although the Cervélo patents that Canyon are permitted to use have not been made public and neither side will comment further on the arrangement.
“We’re happy this matter is resolved, that’s good news for both companies and for consumers,” said Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervélo.
Roman Arnold, chief executive of Canyon, expressed his satisfaction as well.
“After the long lasting lawsuit both sides can once again concentrate on what they can do best: build high class, innovative and trendsetting bicycles,” he said.
Canyon’s marketing description of the Maximus Seat tube goes like this: “Narrow at the top, elliptical at the bottom and flattened on one side: The patented Maximus seat tube allows maximum stiffness of the rear triangle for sprints thanks to the wider contact area of the hollow section bottom bracket shell. A front derailleur can be easily mounted thanks to the flattened right side, and the tapered tube which becomes narrower towards the top and the VCLS Stays allows for better damping characteristics despite the extreme stiffness of the rear triangle.”
Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
Ah but taking pictures of things to defy the man (avoid a fine) is righteous. Taking pictures of people to grass on them to the cops (perhaps...
But getting paid for it is the very definition of professional....
Never had a Shimano QR fail on me. They just work. And the top end ones look good too....
If you're only looking at the guy in front of you then you're going to crash whatever brakes you have, you need to look beyond them to anticipate...
As a woman, this works great for me! My chain broke once, and a kind guy stopped with a chain breaker and sorted it all out for me. We stopped at a...
Same. I also have gone through a bunch of their tyres, and only the extralight disappointed (torn sidewall) but the standards are fantastic....
thanks for the ideas....
Indeed - but it's no more inconsistent than our current road design - very often UK high streets are "for shopping" and also a busy through route....
If you ask the world's leading economic commentators how many people have been rescued from abject poverty by capitalism the average answer would...