Copyright infringement case against Largan Precision escalates as MVTec seeks more than TWD800 million in damages

　The legal battle between Taiwanese optics manufacturer, Largan Precision Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Largan”) and German software company, MVTec over Largan’s alleged illegal use of MVTec’s image processing software, HALCON has remained unsettled and further extended to Germany.  In a statement issued on June 8, 2026, MVTec indicated that they had filed a civil lawsuit for damages with the Munich Regional Court I in Germany, seeking damages in an amount of €22 million (equivalent to more than TWD800 million).  MVTec also stated that the complaint had been served to Largan in April 2026.  

　In this civil case, Largan was accused of cracking and making extensive unauthorized copies of the HALCON software for its own use after purchase of the software with MVTec.  The Taiwan Taichung District Prosecutors Office conducted an investigation on this case, determining that Largan’s conduct constituted violation of the Copyright Act and thus indicted Largan and relevant employees in April 2024.  After the indictment, MVTec demanded Largan to produce proof of authorization.  However, rather than providing complete evidence, Largan applied to the IPC Court for a provisional injunction maintaining the status quo, seeking to prevent MVTec, prior to the entry of a judgment, from interfering with its use of the software and from requesting it to provide proof of authorization.  

　The IPC Court rejected Largan’s applications in April and September 2025, respectively.  In its ruling, the IPC Court found that at the time of installing the HALCON software, users are presented with the full license agreement and must click “Agree” before proceeding with the installation.  Given that Largan had installed and used the software, its subsequent claim that it was not bound by the agreement was indeed questionable.  The IPC Court also noted that Largan had initially purchased only nine sets of the developer version of the software (licensed by Nodelocked), but it was accused of installing the software on a large number of devices.  Under the circumstance that Largan and relevant employees had already been indicted, MVTec, as the copyright holder, certainly has the right to request Largan to produce proof of its legal use of the software.  

　According to MVTec, it has been more than two years since the indictment, yet the Taichung District Prosecutors Office handling this case has not proceeded to a substantive examination of the case after holding only one preparatory hearing on May 31, 2024.  Besides, MVTec has repeatedly instructed its attorney to file a motion with the court for accessing to the case files so as to ascertain the details of the alleged infringement, but it has never received any clear ruling on the motions or any explanation therefor.  In order to protect its own rights and interest, MVTec formally filed a civil lawsuit in Germany to seek damages with the complaint duly served to Largan in April 2026 with the assistance of Taiwan’s diplomatic authorities.  (Released 2026.06.08)  
/CCS