Shimano vs SRAM: The court battle continues

In June of this year, a Munich district court ruled that the component manufacturer SRAM was no longer allowed to market and advertise sprockets from the "5.0" and "7.0" series in Germany. This was because the shifting aids on the sprockets infringed the intellectual property of SRAM's competitor Shimano. Shortly before Eurobike, Japan's shifting giant followed suit: The same court also imposed the ban on SRAM's new "trigger shifters", which subsequently had to be removed from the exhibition stand in Friedrichshafen. Now, after a hearing, the next higher court has put the ban on the SRAM cassettes on ice. To be continued, one can only say.

Shimano's first blow against SRAM concerned sprocket packages with which the Americans made life difficult for the Japanese, particularly on the OEM market. The sprockets in the 5.0 and 7.0 series shift practically as well as their Shimano counterparts, but are clearly cheaper. This is a compelling argument in times when every screw on the bikes is calculated tightly. The court order banning the SRAM cassettes has now been put on ice by the next higher court. This means that SRAM can sell the parts on the important German market again ? and show them at the IFMA in Cologne.

The second blow followed shortly before the fall trade fairs: While Shimano tried to convince the bike world of "Dual Action", the combined brake and shift levers, SRAM presented a valid alternative with the "Trigger Shifters", which are reminiscent of Shimano's proven STI shifters in terms of ergonomics ? and can be combined with any brake lever. Just before the Eurobike, Shimano obtained another injunction from the same Munich District Court, this time against the shifters. SRAM then had to remove them from the stand that had already been set up in Friedrichshafen.

It is already foreseeable that the ban against the "Trigger Shifter" will not be upheld by the next higher court. However, as SRAM will not be able to present its own position in court until October 1, the "Trigger Shifters" will not be on display at the SRAM stand at the IFMA in Cologne. However, the parts can still be seen and tried out on complete bikes. It is to be hoped that the bike industry will put its energy back into product innovation instead of legal wrangling. Because then all bike enthusiasts will benefit instead of lawyers.