Why Viking Arm chose the Unified Patent Court (UPC) to enforce their patent

12 August 2025

The Client

Viking Arm has been working with Zacco almost since their inception. Founded in 2018 by inventors and innovators, Øivind Resch and Terje Scheen, they have now grown internationally but maintain their Norwegian roots, remaining headquartered just outside of Oslo.

The success of Viking Arm has been underpinned by their development of a one-handed lifting tool which has quickly gained global recognition amongst both professional and amateur craftsmen. Recognised for its practicality and ease of use, the Viking Arm lifting jack effectively allows a user to lift up to 150kg with millimetre precision, and their original tool design has since been complemented by a number of accessories that have strengthened its versatility. As the company has grown, so too has their IP portfolio and their online presence, and the revolutionary nature of the lifting tool has made them a prime target for counterfeiters and copycats.

The Background

The story began with identifying a gap in the construction market, and an idea for how to fill it. Zacco’s Simen Svare Kristoffersen has supported the product development process almost from the beginning. He is a regular visitor to their factories to collaborate on identifying distinguishable and common features between multiple prototypes. The early success of the tool meant that he also had the opportunity to work closely with Viking Arm to build up their territory and patent strategy, ensuring that all key current and future markets were covered.

This growth also meant that branding and trademarks quickly became a key priority, and Zacco was able to support Viking Arm with the development of their trademark portfolio, successfully overturning some initial refusals for trademark protection. Zacco was also able to support Viking Arm with the development of their domain name portfolio and online brand protection services. Multiple watch and monitoring services were put in place to track potential infringements and other misuse of their rights, both online and offline, covering domain name system, international online marketplaces, social media, and websites.

Establishing relevant rights and securing an online presence in key markets supported their movement into new territories, and Viking Arm’s lifting tool quickly gained a reputation as an innovative solution. Global access, however, meant global competition, and copycats and counterfeits soon emerged from the shadows. While removing infringements in Europe and the US tended to be quite straightforward, assisting with the removal of counterfeit goods in Asia required some creativity and Zacco was able to work with leading online marketplaces and local agents to help remove many of the wholesalers who supplied the smaller infringing firms. Zacco continues to assist Viking Arm with analysis and enforcement of their online accounts, domains, marketplace listings and websites.

Viking Arm is a genuine example of Zacco’s IP360 protection and enforcement, combining multiple services to support ongoing growth, monetisation of rights.

The UPC Case and Result

In 2024, Viking Arm was in discussions with some of their distributors when it emerged that they had been receiving promotional material from Stanley Black & Decker regarding a lifting tool that looked suspiciously like our client’s own innovation. Viking Arm worked with Zacco to explore potential options, and it was agreed that action would have to be taken to enforce and protect their invention.

Considering that Stanley is one of the world’s largest tool makers, national court action was quickly dismissed. Norway likely represented a relatively small market for them and local domestic action might not have the desired impact considering that Viking Arm is now selling globally. Instead Simen enlisted the aid of his Zacco colleague, Claus Christian Schmidt, and after extensive discussions with Viking Arm it was concluded that the case would be a perfect fit for the relatively recently established Unified Patent Court. Confident of the patent protection afforded to Viking Arm’s innovative invention, Zacco were then able to support them throughout the litigation process.

Claus and Simen worked closely and effectively with the litigation experts at Schjødt, including Partners Halvor Manshaus, Thomas Hagen, and Christopher Tehrani, who led the litigation when the case was taken on as the 6th UPC case before the Nordic Baltic Region court in Sweden.  Simen, as the patent attorney who has helped Viking Arm to improve and secure ongoing patent protection over many years, deftly managed the process between the various parties, supporting the litigation while still working through the European Patent and other applications and ensuring that the global strategy is aligned.

As a result of the comprehensive patent protection and the successful argumentation before the court, the two parties eventually decided to settle all patent disputes. Stanley Black & Decker signed a settlement and a license agreement with Viking Arm, and both parties agreed to withdraw all proceedings before the UPC, the EPO and the USPTO.

The Feedback

Øivind Resch, the CEO and Founder of Viking Arm, shared the following: “We have had a great partnership with Zacco right from the very beginning. Simen Svare Kristoffersen has been a brilliant resource, always ready to test out ideas and provide guidance and insight on what we should protect and where. His patent work, his close collaboration with our brilliant team, and his support of Schjødt played a large part in the amicable settlement of our case at the UPC. Zacco has supported us through everything, combining patents, trademarks and digital brands across the globe, and litigation support at the EPO and UPC. Communication is seamless and advice is practical and easy to understand.”