Bär & Karrer Successfully Assisted Ansaldo Energia in ICC Arbitration Proceedings

Bär & Karrer formed part of a German and Swiss legal counsel team that successfully represented Ansaldo Energia (Ansaldo) in a dispute against Siemens relating to the use of heavy duty gas turbine technology, which Siemens has licensed to Ansaldo since 2004. Siemens started arbitration proceedings two years ago, soon after Ansaldo made forays into the South Korean and Chinese markets through co-operation agreements with Doosan Heavy Industries and Shanghai Electric Group, claiming that the agreements would harm its position in the Asian market.

Ansaldo is Italy’s largest supplier, installer and service provider for power generation plants and components and one of the global leading players in the sector. The Arbitral Tribunal ruled that Ansaldo was not only allowed to use the technology, but also to sub-licence it and the relevant patents to third parties.

In the proceedings Ansaldo was represented by Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft (lead counsel), as well as by Allen & Overy and Krieger Mes for the intellectual property aspects of the dispute. Bär & Karrer arbitration specialists Saverio Lembo, Simone Burlet-Fuchs and Aurélie Conrad represented Ansaldo for the Swiss procedural law aspects.