Today, the Danish Supreme Court announced its judgment in the case concerning the Ørsted Group’s right to use the Ørsted name. The action was brought by seven bearers of the Ørsted name. In the judgment, the Supreme Court upheld Ørsted’s claim that the company has the right to use the Ørsted name. This means that the case has been brought to a final close.
Ørsted CEO Henrik Poulsen says:
“We’re very pleased that the Danish Supreme Court has ruled in favour of our right to use the name Ørsted, and that this case has now been brought to an end. We changed our name to Ørsted in 2017 as a tribute to Hans Christian Ørsted, one of the greatest Danish scientists of all time. He discovered electromagnetism 200 years ago, thereby laying the foundation for the way we produce electricity today. Therefore, we believe that Ørsted is the right name for our company, and we’re pleased that the Danish Supreme Court has upheld our right to use the name.”
Ørsted collaborates with the Danish societies ‘H.C. Ørsted Selskabet’ and the ‘Danish Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science’ founded by Hans Christian Ørsted on increasing the awareness of Hans Christian Ørsted and his groundbreaking discoveries.
The information provided in this announcement does not change Ørsted’s previously announced financial outlook for the 2020 financial year or the expected investment level announced for 2020.
For further information, please contact:
Media Relations
Ulrik Frøhlke
+45 99 55 95 60
ulrfr@orsted.dk
Investor Relations
Allan Bødskov Andersen
+45 99 55 79 96
Facts on the case
On 2 October 2017, under its former name DONG Energy, the company announced that it would change its name to Ørsted in tribute to the Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted who discovered electromagnetism in 1820.
Ørsted has been using the name for over 100 years through its ownership of the H.C. Ørsted Power Station. When the power station was named in the centenary year of the discovery of electromagnetism, the choice of name was supported by many of Hans Christian Ørsted’s descendants.
In January 2018, an action was brought against Ørsted by three descendants of Hans Christian Ørsted, later to be joined by four more. They demanded that the company stop using the name. The case was heard by the Copenhagen Maritime and Commercial Court in March 2019, and the court found in favour of Ørsted in May 2019, entitling Ørsted to continue to use the name. This judgment was appealed to the Danish Supreme Court by the seven descendants in June 2019. Today, the Danish Supreme Court found that Ørsted has the right to use the name.
About Ørsted
Ørsted’s vision is to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted ranks #1 in Corporate Knights’ 2020 index of the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,120 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2019, the company generated revenue of DKK 67.8 billion (EUR 9.1 billion).
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