Flexiteek wins court case against copycats

by Paul Whelan on 7 Jul 2009 A jury has ruled in favour of Flexiteek in its patent infringement against PlasTEAK and PlasDECK in a US district court. Flexiteek International based in Norway has manufacturing plants in Australia, Sweden and the USA. A statement issued by the company reads as follows.

'The case was filed in June 2008, alleging that the Tek-Dek products formerly imported and sold by PlasTEAK, as well as PlasDECK's current line of synthetic teak decking product infringe upon Flexiteek's US Patent Number 6,895,881 (the '881 Patent).

'The District Court made additional rulings of law which considerably strengthened the '881 Patent. The District Court ruled that Flexiteek International AS was the owner of the '881 Patent, and that the '881 Patent was valid.

'Flexiteek's main competitors, Tek-Dek Ltd and PlasDECK Inc, have been taking the position that Flexiteek was not the owner of the '881 Patent and that it was invalid. The District Court's rulings demonstrate that the position taken by these competitors lack merit.

'The District Court also rendered what is called a 'claims construction' which defines what the claims and terms of the patent mean. The claims construction significantly broadened the scope of the '881 Patent against any and all potential infringers.

'Shortly, the Court will issue an injunction prohibiting PlasTEAK and PlasDECK from making, marketing and selling the infringing products. The injunction will also apply to all the PlasDeck distributors and installers around the world.

'The jury determined that the early PT-Products (Tek-Dek's products imported to the US from the UK) were infringing on the '881 patent. Therefore, we believe this verdict is enforceable against the present ongoing patent infringement of Tek-Dek.'
(26 June 2009)