2023.06.13

Licensing of GloBrass® for the European and North American markets

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation ("MMC") has concluded a license agreement with Luvata Oy ("Luvata"), a wholly owned subsidiary of MMC, granting Luvata an exclusive license, in Europe and North America, for the patent and trademark rights of GloBrass®^*1, a next-generation lead-free, free-cutting brass that complies with various lead-related regulations.

GloBrass® is a lead-free brass that achieves about twice the electrical conductivity of ECO BRASS®^*1, a conventionally developed lead-free brass. This is accomplished by reviewing the composition of copper and zinc, while maintaining strength and machinability similar to those of ECO BRASS® and further reducing metal costs. While the corrosion resistance of GloBrass® is not as high as that of ECO BRASS®, it has sufficient properties thus GloBrass® is expected to be used in a wider range of automotive and electronic components.

Use of a material containing harmful substances, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium, for electrical or electronic components and automotive components is prohibited by the RoHS Directive^*2 and ELV Directive^*3. However, copper alloys are temporarily exempted from such prohibitions and still allowed to contain up to 4％ of lead.　The technical consultants of these Directives proposed to the European Commission to review these exemptions of the ELV Directive in 2025, and of the RoHS Directive in July 2026 respectively. Since the consultants also indicated that the scope of the exemptions should be more specific and limited in the next review, the trend towards lead-free copper alloys is expected to accelerate in the European market.

MMC and Luvata are in the process of obtaining EN^*4 standards for GloBrass® in expectation of its market development in Europe. MMC and Luvata together will continue to promote various strategic initiatives of GloBrass®, including market development through licensing in accordance with the main objectives of the FRAND declaration^*5 under the EN standards.

In May 2023, Luvata has signed a sublicense agreement with Wieland-Werke AG (Ulm, Germany; "Wieland") to use GloBrass® patent and trademark rights in Europe and North America. The company previously had a license agreement with MMC for ECO BRASS® and has contributed to the growth of ECO BRASS® into a global lead-free brass. The sublicense agreement for GloBrass® has been concluded in expectation of early market penetration through the company's network.

In late May 2023, Luvata has signed a sublicense agreement with Sarbak Metal Tic. Ve San. A.Ş. (headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey; "Sarbak"), to use GloBrass® patent and trademark rights in Europe. Sarbak has also contributed to the expansion of ECO BRASS® sales and is focusing on expanding sales of environmentally friendly lead-free brass products in the market.

MMC has set out Our Commitment of "For people, society, and the earth, circulating resources for a sustainable future" based on its corporate philosophy. MMC will continue to contribute to the world through developing and supplying environmentally friendly materials and high-value-added products to the market.

*1... GloBrass®, ECO BRASS® Product Introduction Website
URL: https://www.mitsubishi-copper.com/en/products/materials/ecobrass/

*2... RoHS Directive
RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical equipment) Directive is an EU directive on the restriction of the use of certain substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

*3... ELV Directive
ELV (End-of-Life Vehicles) Directive is an EU directive to reduce the environmental impact of end-of-life vehicles.

*4... EN
EN is an abbreviation for the "European Norm", which refers to technical standards used in the European Union (EU). EN standards are intended to promote technical uniformity and establish common standards among EU member states.

*5... FRAND declaration
FRAND is an abbreviation for "Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory" terms. Under such FRAND declaration, the holder of the patent rights related to the EN standard technology declares that such patents are available on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.