Calgon Carbon wins lawsuit
4 Dec 2002
The Dutch patent court in The Hague has ruled in favour of Calgon Carbon Corporation in a patent-infringement lawsuit against Royal Pannevis and Torus Liquid Separation.
The court ruled that Calgon Carbon's patent for its ISEP (Ionic Separation) Continuous Ion Exchange Unit and its CSEP (Chromatographic Separator) Continuous Chromotography Separation systems is valid and is infringed by the SepTor equipment produced by Pannevis and Torus.
The decision restricts Pannevis and Torus from producing and selling their equipment throughout most of Europe.
In addition, the court's cross-border injunction prevents Pannevis and Torus from producing, selling, or delivering any SEPTOR equipment from its Dutch headquarters, even if the equipment is produced to be exported out of Europe.
Commenting on the announcement, Jim Cederna, Calgon Carbon's chairman and chief executive officer, said, 'We are extremely pleased with the Dutch court's decision. It not only verifies that the patent for our ISEP and CSEP systems is valid, but also demonstrates that we can successfully defend our patents in the international courts.'
Mr. Cederna continued, 'The court's decision is significant to our business because it confirms Calgon Carbon as the exclusive supplier of these valuable specialty systems in ion exchange and chromatographic separations for the food, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, water treatment, and biotechnology markets. It also positions us to pursue damages for several million dollars of SepTor systems that were sold.'
