Caterpillar countersues Bobcat for infringing machinery patents

By Blake Brittain

March 24 (Reuters) - Construction equipment company Caterpillar CAT.N escalated its legal battle with rival Doosan Bobcat 000150.KS in Texas federal court on Tuesday, accusing Bobcat of infringing several patents related to improving earthmoving machinery.

Caterpillar brought the counterclaims in response to patent lawsuits filed by Bobcat last year over the companies' construction equipment. Caterpillar has separately denied those allegations.

A Bobcat spokesperson declined on Wednesday to comment on Caterpillar's counterclaims, citing ongoing litigation.

"We pride ourselves on our continued advancement and investments in innovation to support our customers’ toughest challenges and have a right to protect our intellectual property," a Caterpillar spokesperson said.

Bobcat, which specializes in compact construction equipment, was founded in North Dakota as Melroe Manufacturing Co in 1947 and acquired by South Korea-based Doosan in 2007. It claims in lawsuits filed in Texas federal court, at the U.S. International Trade Commission and in Europe that Caterpillar copied Bobcat's "skid-steer loader" technology for compact machinery.

Irving, Texas-based Caterpillar responded on Tuesday that Bobcat's loaders and excavators infringe its patents, and that Bobcat studied and copied its technology as part of a "competitive intelligence" program. Caterpillar asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

The case is Doosan Bobcat North America Inc v. Caterpillar Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. 2:25-cv-01184.

For Bobcat: Sean Pak, Iman Lordgooei, Nathan Hamstra, Marc Kaplan and James Pak of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

For Caterpillar: Jeanne Heffernan and James Lomeo of Kirkland & Ellis

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Bobcat sues Caterpillar over construction equipment patents