04.26.16
Hygiene machinery maker Curt G. Joa has taken steps to invalidate a patent owned by competitor Fameccania Data, SpA, an Italian maker of hygiene machinery. In a case filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Joa asserts the invalidity of a patent entitled “Disposable Absorbent Garment such as a diaper or training pants and process of making the same.” The suit, which was also filed in the European patent office, alleges that earlier patents already disclose the invention—a breathable, stretchable layer assembly including an inner material layer, an outer material layer and a stretchable material layer disposed there between and including vent sites which are transformed by ultrasonic bonding— claimed in the Fameccanica patent.
Executives at Fameccania an owner of many patents within the disposable absorbent converting industry, have responded by saying they consider the allegations by Joa to be meritless and are confident that the patents will be upheld. The company plans to vigorously defend its patent rights.
Fameccanica is no stranger to patent struggles. The company recently settled a dispute amicably with Ontex BVBA (Ontex) concerning Fameccanica’s European Patent No. 1355604 and all of its equivalents worldwide. In the settlement, Fameccanica granted Ontex a non-exclusive limited license to the European patent and its equivalents worldwide for the manufacture and sale of products that fall within the scope of those patents such as certain adult pull-up products with laminated, breathable elastic film.
Executives at Fameccania an owner of many patents within the disposable absorbent converting industry, have responded by saying they consider the allegations by Joa to be meritless and are confident that the patents will be upheld. The company plans to vigorously defend its patent rights.
Fameccanica is no stranger to patent struggles. The company recently settled a dispute amicably with Ontex BVBA (Ontex) concerning Fameccanica’s European Patent No. 1355604 and all of its equivalents worldwide. In the settlement, Fameccanica granted Ontex a non-exclusive limited license to the European patent and its equivalents worldwide for the manufacture and sale of products that fall within the scope of those patents such as certain adult pull-up products with laminated, breathable elastic film.