Angelalign Technology, the Hong Kong-listed Chinese clear-aligner maker, has lost a major patent case at the Unified Patent Court (UPC). On October 16, 2026, the Paris Local Division held that aligners using Angelalign’s “Torque Ridges” feature infringe European patent EP 2 237 738, owned by Invisalign maker Align Technology. The court ordered an injunction across 17 UPC states, recall and destruction of infringing products, and damages.
Validity attacks fail
The patent was granted on July 12, 2023. It covers aligners whose tooth cavities have a single, continuous, ridge-shaped protrusion, designed to produce “third order root movement with lingual root torque.” Align markets the technology as Power Ridge. The Angel Aligner Select and Pro products use Angelalign’s AngelAttach system, which includes the Torque Ridge.
The court rejected Angelalign’s counterclaim for revocation on the grounds of added matter, insufficiency and lack of inventive step.
The infringement finding turned on claim construction. Angelalign argued that “buccal side of the cavity” refers only to cavities for back teeth. The court disagreed and read “buccal” as meaning “facial”, so the claim also covers front teeth. That was decisive, because Angelalign’s Torque Ridge is applied to the front teeth. The court found literal infringement of claims 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8.
Remedies, and a UK setback
The injunction covers Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. Penalty payments can reach €10,000 (US$11,250) per infringing product or €20,000 (US$22,500) per day of continued infringement, and damages run from the grant date. The injunction also spares aligners already delivered and limits its application to patients whose treatment has not begun or has been interrupted.
Align lost its claim for acts in the UK because it had not set out the applicable UK law in its statement of claim or proved infringing acts in the UK. The court also found that Align’s later submissions on the UK law were late and insufficient. The court dismissed the action against Angelalign’s Dutch holding company, finding no evidence that it was involved in the infringement beyond being a shareholder.
The legal teams
Carpmaels & Ransford acted for Align, as it has in the parallel UPC cases in Düsseldorf. The team was led by partner and patent attorney John Brunner and litigation partner Agathe Michel-de-Cazotte.
Düsseldorf IP boutique Arnold Ruess acted for the five Angelalign entities. The team was led by partner Arno Risse and counsel Tim Smentkowski, assisted by associate Tugce Altun. In the Düsseldorf proceedings, Arnold Ruess worked with patent attorneys Dirk Schulz, Ulrich Storz and Wanze Zhang of Michalski Hüttermann & Partner.
Competing statements
Angelalign said the ruling would have little practical effect. It had replaced Torque Ridges in Europe with a feature called Pressure Points, launched in September. “Angel respectfully disagrees with the decision and is reviewing it closely while it evaluates its options,” said the company, adding that it “will comply with the court’s ruling, including the return of any products.”
“Angel takes intellectual property rights seriously and is careful not to infringe on valid patents,” said Richard Hirschland, Angelalign’s chief commercial officer. “We are reviewing the court’s reasoning carefully and will consider all available options.”
Align disputed that account. “The ruling represents a significant victory for Align and underscores the importance of protecting the innovations resulting from Align’s substantial and sustained investment in research and development,” said Arthur S. Hsieh, Align’s deputy general counsel for IP and licensing. He said Angelalign’s emphasis on Pressure Points “should not obscure the significance of the court’s decision” and that Align does not view Pressure Points as “a technological upgrade to, or an equivalent replacement for” the ridge technology.
A multi-front campaign
The Paris ruling is one part of a global campaign that Align launched in August 2025. In February 2026, the Düsseldorf Local Division granted Align a preliminary injunction over Angelalign’s iOrtho software. The Court of Appeal upheld it, though Düsseldorf refused a separate application in May.
In August, the Jinan Intermediate People’s Court found that Angelalign’s A7 premolar extraction solutions infringe Align’s Chinese patents, and Angelalign has appealed. An administrative law judge’s initial determination in the U.S. International Trade Commission investigation concerning five Align patents is due by November 20, 2026.
The decision shows that Chinese companies expanding into Europe can face a single UPC merits ruling with remedies across 17 markets. It also shows the limits of the court’s reach: the UK claim failed because Align had not properly pleaded the applicable UK law or provided infringing acts there. Angelalign says its customers in Spain, the UK and outside Europe are unaffected. Angelalign can appeal. A design-around launched before judgment may reduce the commercial effect, but the dispute is likely to move on to whether Pressure Points also infringes.
- Asia IP
