Bobcat launches two-pronged patent infringement action against Caterpillar

The two-pronged action sees Doosan Bobcat North America lodge a civil action in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall division), as well as a complaint to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington DC.

They are the latest in a series of actions that Bobcat has taken against Caterpillar, which have also included two complaints in the Unified Patent Court, and three complaints in German district court, both also alleging patent infringements.

Explaining the move, Bobcat claimed that Cat was a “late arrival” to the skid-steer loader market and did not start manufacturing skid-steer loaders until 40 years after Bobcat “created the market”.

In its Texas filing, Doosan Bobcat North America alleged that Cat “has chosen to take the innovations of Bobcat to attempt to unfairly compete” in the skid-steer and broader compact equipment market. Alleging that this was a “pattern” for Cat, Bobcat claimed in its latest litigation and earlier action that Cat closely monitors competitors’ products “including tearing them down as part of its ‘new product introduction process’”.

Among its accusations against Cat were that the US construction equipment giant did testing to identify signals in sensors in competitors’ products, photographed “every part of the teardown” and even “makes CAD drawings of individual components of its competitors’ machines”.

By doing so, it identified advanced technologies in competitor products to “potentially emulate them”, Bobcat alleged in its Texas filing.

Bobcat said in its complaint to the ITC that the products affected were certain skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers and components.

In its Texas filing, Bobcat is seeking an award of damages if it successfully proves that Cat has infringed its patents, as well as ongoing royalties.

At the ITC, it has requested a limited exclusion order barring entry into the US of any skid-steers, compact track loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, or components that are judged to have infringed one or more patents and are imported to the US.

It is also seeking permanent cease and desist orders and the imposition of a bond upon importation of a bond upon importation of infringing products during a 60-day presidential review period. That review period is a window following an ITC “final determination” under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 during which the US President could review and potentially veto the ITC’s exclusion or cease-and-desist orders.

Caterpillar has been contacted for comment.

Patent disputes between OEMs are a relatively common phenomenon. In 2024, Deere & Co subsidiary Wirtgen has won around US$12.9 million in damages from Caterpillar after a legal dispute over patent rights in road-building technology. A federal jury in Delaware, US, determined that Caterpillar’s road-milling machines had infringed five of six Wirtgen patents.