The Federal Court of Appeal has overturned the summary judgment awarded to Trojan Technologies, Inc., last year in its patent infringement case against Suntec Environmental, Inc., of Concord, Ontario, a competing manufacturer of equipment used to disinfect municipal waste-water using ultraviolet (UV) light.
The Federal Court of Appeal ruling did not address any issue of patent validity or infringement, but rather found that the overturned Order and Judgment should not have been issued before a trial was held.
Marvin DeVries, Trojan's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Trojan first sought the summary judgment in order to achieve a quick resolution of the patent dispute. The ruling by the Court of Appeals means we will have to resume the litigation process and work our way to a trial in due course. We remain confident that, after a trial, the final outcome of this matter will confirm Trojan's position. Trojan intends to continue to enforce its legal rights in this matter and seek all available remedies. Infringement of Trojan's hard-earned intellectual property will not be tolerated."
The Order and Judgment previously handed down in July of 2003 by the Federal Court of Canada, and later conditionally suspended pending appeal, ruled that certain claims set forth in Canadian Patent No. 1,327,877 relating to Trojan's UV3000 product are valid and are infringed by Suntec's LPX200 product. The original Order and Judgment also included an injunction limiting sales activities by Suntec and certain other related persons in connection with the Suntec Environmental LPX200 Ultraviolet Disinfection System and equivalent and related products.
Source: Trojan Technologies, Inc.
