USPTO recently issued a patent US 8,104,244, relevant for narrow floorboards of e.g. engineered wood, plywood or solid wood, according to Välinge. The patent protects a flooring comprising floor boards with a width less than 10 cm. The floorboards are provided with connectors along the long edges that allow assembling by an angling motion and a locking system at the short edges that allows assembling by a vertical motion.

The connectors at the long edges lock the floorboards together in a horizontal and in a vertical direction. The locking system at the short edges locks the floorboard together in the horizontal direction and may be of a so-called “Hook” solution.

The patent has a priority date of April 22, 2002, and the term of protection expires in April 2023.

"This important granted US patent is protecting features today commonly used in flooring products, especially in North America. It is again shown that Välinge and its licensees with R&D and commercialization creates innovations that performs strong in the market and is well protected by Välinge's IP," said Per Nygren, EVP Marketing.