EAST HILLS, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2002 -- Judge Johanna Seybert of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has entered a judgment that CUNO Inc's PolyPro® XL and LifeAssure™ filters infringe two Pall Corp. patents.
These patents (US patents 5,543,047 and 5,690,765) cover Pall's ULTIPLEAT® line of filters and their method of manufacture. Pall now intends to ask that the Court enjoin CUNO from the manufacture and sale of its infringing filters.
The ULTIPLEAT family of products is widely used in a broad spectrum of industries and applications. Its unique design enables more filter material to be packed into a smaller envelope. This results in much longer service life, less waste to dispose of and significantly improved economics. Pall received the prestigious Vaaler Award in 1995 and again in 1999 for two of its filters based on the ULTIPLEAT design. The Vaaler Award recognizes leading innovations in the chemical processing industry.
Gilbert Weiner, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Pall said, "We are very pleased with the Court's latest ruling. Pall's proprietary materials and technologies along with our ability to engineer them into useful forms are the cornerstone of our technical and market leadership. We will vigorously defend them."
Pall initially brought suit against CUNO on December 30, 1997. An evidentiary "Markman" hearing was held in September of 2000, where Judge Seybert heard evidence as to the meaning of certain terms in the claims in the patents. On September 20, 2001, she rejected CUNO's proposed claim interpretation and ruled that the disputed claim terms should be given their ordinary and accustomed meaning.
On October 29, 2001, Pall filed a motion for summary judgment of infringement of 57 claims in the two patents in suit. On September 30, 2002 the Court rendered its decision that the CUNO filters infringe all of the asserted claims of the Pall patents.
About Pall Corporation:
Pall Corporation is a specialist in the fields of filtration, separations and purification. Pall's business is organized around two broad markets: Life Sciences and Industrial. The company provides products to meet the needs of customers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, transfusion medicine, semiconductors, municipal drinking water and aerospace.
The company is headquartered in East Hills, New York and has major operations in more than 30 countries. Further information is available at http://www.pall.com.
