German court rules in favour of Teradyne in Chinese robot copyright case
12 March 2026 
UPDATED: In April 2026, the Regional Court of Hamburg issued a preliminary injunction against Elite Robots Deutschland, a German subsidiary of the Chinese robot-maker, Elite Robots, after Teradyne Robotics, – the owner of the Danish cobot specialist, Universal Robots , and the AMR manufacturer, MiR – alleged that that the German company had infringed copyright regarding UR’s software.
According to the court decision, Elite Robots is prohibited from offering or distributing the infringing software and products containing this software in Germany until further notice. Moreover, Elite is obligated to provide comprehensive information about the infringing acts it has committed and, in doing so, also to disclose information about the customers it has supplied. Teradyne Robotics says it will take legal action against Elite Robots’ distributors and partners if they continue to offer the infringing software.
“At Teradyne Robotics, we have chosen to take a stand against any competitors copying our proprietary hardware or software design and we are of course pleased with this ruling,” says Teradyne Robotics Group president, Jean-Pierre Hathout. “We believe we have irrefutable evidence of copyright infringement and, while this is not a final ruling from the court, it is a clear indication that we have a very strong case.”
“Automation and innovation are critical to our industrial future,” he adds. “We cannot passively allow companies to unlawfully copy protected technologies. This not only hampers research and innovation but also undermines customer experience and confidence. Teradyne Robotics remains fully committed to protecting our intellectual property and to ensuring automation customers have access to the safe, innovative and high-quality solutions they deserve.”
Teradyne Robotics stresses that wider interests are at stake and that, without strong enforcement of IP rights, Europe risks losing its ability to scale automation, maintain competitiveness, and safeguard high-standard manufacturing.
As well as taking the legal action against Elite, Teradyne Robotics has also alerted safety authorities in Europe about safety concerns relating to Elite Robots’ robots. Teradyne says it has pioneered standards for robot safety and specialises in advanced robots which, subject to safety assessments, can work safely alongside people. In recent years, it adds, it has seen growing competition from robot companies which sometimes lack the same rigorous approach to safety.
If Europe allows IP infringements to go unchecked, Teradyne argues, it effectively subsidises non-European competitors, while undermining its own innovators. It is calling on policymakers and industry leaders to ensure that Europe remains a secure environment for innovation.
Teradyne adds that consumer confidence is critical if Europe is to continue to benefit from automation. Recent figures have shown that 48% of European manufacturers believe that robotics will be the most transformative technology by 2030, 68% cite productivity as the top driver of automation, and 84% report positive employee responses to robotic automation.
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