A Medical Device Daily

Pall (East Hills, New York) reported that the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York issued a favorable claim construction ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit against Cuno, (Meriden, Connecticut) a 3M ( St. Paul, Minnesota) company.

This ruling reinforces Pall’s position that Cuno infringes the patents in suit and undermines Cuno’s invalidity and unenforceability defenses. Pall seeks compensatory damages and a permanent injunction precluding Cuno from selling its infringing products. In 2002 the same court ruled that an earlier Cuno product infringed the same patents.

Pall alleges that Cuno’s Polypro XL and LifeAssure filters infringe two of its patents, US 5,543,047 and US 5,690,765. These patents relate to Pall’s laid-over pleat technology sold under the brand name Ultipleat.

In Judge Joanna Seybert’s Memorandum and Order, the court acknowledged that Pall engineers developed a filter which overcame a half-century-old problem: how to make a more efficient and long-lasting filter without increasing its size. The court wrote, “The invention was a major breakthrough, and the product became an immediate commercial success. Pall was awarded a prestigious design award in recognition of the significance of the invention.”

Pall’s core technology platform is in broad use in a variety of industrial markets and applications including the aerospace, food and beverage, energy and semiconductor industries. The laid-over pleat design that defines Ultipleat filters allows more filter material to be packed into a smaller envelope.

The two patents are also the subject of a suit Pall recently filed against Entegris (Chaska, Minnesota). The Entegris suit was filed in the same court and is pending before the same judge as in the Cuno suit. Pall is seeking compensatory damages and a permanent injunction precluding Entegris from selling its infringing products.

Eric Krasnoff, Pall CEO and chairman said, “This recent ruling reinforces Pall’s position that its patents are valuable, valid and enforceable.”

Pall says it’s a leader in the rapidly growing field of filtration, separation and purification. Pall is organized into two businesses: Life Sciences and Industrial.

Cuno manufactures filtration products for the separation, clarification, and purification of fluids and gasses.