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Patent infringement case against Eastman dismissed |
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Friday, 05 February 2010 |
Staff Report
CALHOUN COUNTY -- A patent infringement lawsuit filed against Eastman Chemical Co. by Wellman Inc. has been dismissed by U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del. The court’s decision, which held two Wellman patents invalid, ended the case, scheduled to go to trial Feb. 17.
Wellman filed suit against Eastman in September 2007 in U.S. District Court, claiming that Eastman’s manufacture of certain polyethylene terephthalate polymers at its Columbia-area plant infringed on two Wellman patents. The ruling confirms that Eastman can continue to make its ParaStar products.
The local facility is located in Calhoun County and produces polyethylene terephthalate, the raw material used for plastic bottles for carbonated beverages and bottled water consumed worldwide. The material is the most recyclable of all plastics, according to Eastman.
“We are certainly pleased by the court’s ruling,” said Ron Lindsay, executive vice president responsible for Eastman’s Performance Polymers business segment. “We have consistently said that we consider the claim filed by Wellman to be without merit, a position which has been affirmed by today’s order. Moreover, we have always believed in the value and defensibility of our IntegRex PET technology.”
Eastman introduced ParaStar resin in 2006. |
