DJ Meister Mandeltree Kommunikation GmbH: Patent dispute over new Bundeswehr assault rifle could last years - C.G. Haenel is part of weapons conglomerate of the UAE - German government extended ban on arms exports to the UAE and Saudi Arabia
DGAP-Media / 2020-12-11 / 15:19
*Patent dispute over new Bundeswehr assault rifle could last years - C.G.
Haenel is part of weapons conglomerate of the UAE - German government
extended ban on arms exports to the UAE and Saudi Arabia*
*Berlin / Düsseldorf, Dec. 11, 2020* - The dispute over the German Armed
Forces' new assault rifle and the allegedly infringed patents between
weapons manufacturers C.G. Haenel in Thuringia and Heckler & Koch in
Oberndorf is expected to drag on for some time. According to information
from Meister Mandeltree Kommunikation, the first days of the trial will be
announced on Jan. 11, 2021, by the presiding judge of the chamber of the
Düsseldorf Regional Court. Currently, the lawyers are still exchanging
pleadings. In the summer of 2021, things should really get going and the
negotiations should begin. If one of the parties moves to the next instance,
the dispute could possibly last for years. (Ref. LG Düsseldorf 4AO 68/20)
Following a call for bids for a new assault rifle for the German Armed
Forces, the previous regular supplier Heckler & Koch lost out to the much
smaller weapons manufacturer C.G. Haenel from Thuringia. Heckler & Koch had
successfully applied for a review of the decision, citing patent
infringements. For both sides, it is not only the order volume of around 250
million euros that is at stake, but also a massive gain in prestige.
According the Middle East Experts the United Arab Emirates is no longer
content to limit itself to purchasing armaments. The UAE is increasingly
manufacturing weapons itself through its state-owned company EDGE. The
company now ranks 22nd on SIPRI's list of largest arms sellers.
C.G. Haenel is part of the EDGE Group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an
association of various defense companies that has meanwhile made the SIPRI
list of the world's 30 largest arms manufacturers. The development of its
own arms industry coincides with the Gulf Arabs' efforts to become the
region's new regulatory power by means of a "militarized foreign policy."
This aggressive development is viewed with great concern by Middle East
experts and peace researchers and has culminated in an prolonged export ban
on weapons from Germany to Saudi Arabia and the VAE. The export ban was
originally directed against all countries directly involved in the Yemen
war. However, the export ban was only really enforced when the Saudis had
the critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed and dismembered in the Saudi
Arabian Consulate General in Istanbul. This heinous act turned even the most
hardened armament politicians against the Arabs.
Meister Mandeltree Communication GmbH
Email: office@mandeltree.de
End of Media Release
Issuer: Meister Mandeltree Kommunikation GmbH
Key word(s): Politics
2020-12-11 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP - a service
of EQS Group AG.
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Language: English
Company: Meister Mandeltree Kommunikation GmbH
Friedrichstraße 200
10117 Berlin
Germany
Internet: www.meistermandeltree.de
EQS News ID: 1154694
End of News DGAP Media
1154694 2020-12-11
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