Oblon, Spivak Wins Second Jury Trial in Six Weeks; Jury Finds Patent Infringement

For Immediate Release

September 22, 2005

Alexandria, Va. – A jury in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina in Greenville has awarded $90,000 in damages to DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG, a German dyestuff and chemical manufacturer due to patent infringement by C.H. Patrick Co., Inc. and Bann Quimica LTDA. DyStar is a client of Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C. This is the second jury trial won by the Oblon, Spivak firm this year.

After a six-day trial, the Federal District Court Judge granted judgment on September 7, 2005 to DyStar on the issue of unenforceability and instructed the jury to determine validity, infringement and the amount of damages, if any, due DyStar. On September 16, the jury returned a verdict in favor of DyStar and awarded damages.

The suit involved a patent (U.S. 5,586,992) owned by DyStar connected with its innovative Indigo Vat Solution, which has become the industry benchmark and process of choice for most international denim producers. The benefits relate to a process for dyeing textile materials using an aqueous solution of leuco indigo prepared by catalytic hydrogenation. The use of this process provides dyehouses with economic and ecological advantages, increasing the producer's profits and minimizing environmental pollution. Bann and Patrick completed one sale of about 50,000 pounds of solution to a dyehouse in the US for use by that dyehouse in the claimed process, prior to being sued.

The head of DyStar’s Patent Department, Dr. Ralf Muley, who worked closely with the firms, stated “Our attorneys did a terrific job throughout the case. We are very pleased with their performance and preparation for the trial. Mr. Enos and his team have worked hard for more than three years on this case and their efforts have allowed us to obtain the decisions and verdict we now have in this case. DyStar is committed to the protection of its intellectual property rights.”

This jury verdict and award culminates proceedings that began with the filing of the complaint in September 2002.

DyStar is the most technologically advanced dyestuff manufacturer in the world. Headquartered in Frankfurt Germany, DyStar has manufacturing, distribution, and sales facilities worldwide.

Assisting clients for more than 35 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C., in Alexandria, Va., is one of the largest intellectual property specialty firms in the United States. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in all courts. This is the second jury verdict obtained for patentee clients this year. The firm also continues to have a significant trademark, copyright and patent interference practice.