WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2013
Stopaq's Wrappingband has bested Canusa's Wrapid Bond in the German Court of Appeals, which has deemed the latter a copycat product that violates Stopaq's patent.
In a ruling Oct. 23, the appellate court upheld Dutch protective coatings maker Stopaq BV in its years-long effort to block Canusa Systems Ltd. from bringing a similar corrosion-protection product, with a very similar name, to the German market.
The appellate court also denied Canusa's request for an additional appeal in the case.
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| Stopaq (left); Canusa (right) | ||
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The decision by the German Court of Appeals of Karlsruhe affirmed an earlier lower-court ruling that Canusa Systems Ltd., a division of Shawcor Ltd., had infringed upon Stopaq’s 2004 patent.
Injunctions and Compensation
The 20-year patent protects the anti-corrosion composition on which Stopaq's visco-elastic product Wrappingband is based. Wrappingband, used in corrosion protection and rehabilitation, is designed for multiple onshore, offshore and subsea pipeline applications.
The Court of Appeals enjoined Canusa from offering or placing its Wrapid Bond product on the German market. It also ruled also that Canusa "must compensate Stopaq for any damages incurred as a result of the patent infringement," according to Stopaq.
Stopaq, which invested more than eight years of research and development in Wrappingband, has also successfully fought Canusa with similar allegations in the Dutch market. There Canusa was trying to bring two Wrapid Bond products to market.
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| Stopaq |
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Stopaq BV calls Wrappingband a "versatile monolithic coating in wrap form for above- and underground use." |
Toronto-based pipeline coatings maker Canusa also manufactures WrapidSeal, a manhole encapsulation system; Wrapid Sleeve, a one-piece wraparound corrosion-protection sleeve for buried and exposed steel pipelines; and Wrapid Tape, a primerless cross-linked protective tape.
Canusa Responds
In a statement released Wednesday (Nov. 6), Canusa-USA said that "in examining the Stopaq patents, we were convinced that Canusa’s technologies did not infringe or that prior art from within ShawCor and others in our industry would be sufficient to nullify these patents."
The company said its response to the current dispute would aim to "ensure our customers have fair and open competitive alternatives within an area of technology that has been extensively practiced for many years pre-dating Stopaq’s claiming that they are novel and patentable."
Sending a Signal
“I am very pleased with the courts’ rulings—not only for our company, but also for the people who labored to innovate, create and bring to market our unique visco-elastic technology,” said Frits Doddema, Executive Vice President with Berry Plastics and the Global Managing Director of Stopaq. U.S.-based Berry Plastics bought Stopaq in 2012.
“The ruling sends a strong signal to the market that copying proprietary and protected technology will not be tolerated.”
With more than 20 patents, Stopaq offers a range of anti-corrosion and sealing materials for many applications, including pipelines, subsea piles, and rail to cable joints.
Editor's Note: This article was updated at 2:05 p.m. ET Nov. 6 to add a response and statement from Canusa.
Editor's Note: This article was updated at 8:21 a.m. ET Nov. 7 to correct a reference to Stopaq's copyright. The judgment relates only to the patent. PaintSquare News regrets the error.
Tagged categories: Coating Materials; Corrosion protection; Pipelines; Sealant; ShawCor; STOPAQ
