QuadTech Sues Q.I. Press Controls for Patent Infringement

By: E&P Staff Press control developer QuadTech, Sussex, Wis., is suing competitor Q.I. Press Controls, claiming that the Dutch company's register control product infringes on QuadTech's own patented register control technology. The founders and owners of Q.I. Press Controls are former QuadTech employees, according to a QuadTech release.

QuadTech's legal action follows a German district court decision last year that stopped Q.I. Press Controls from selling its markless register control system in Germany. The district court?s decision was upheld in December by Germany?s Court of Appeals.

QuadTech has now filed suit in the U.S. district court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claiming that Q.I.'s mRC register control product, both in mark and markless mode, infringes on its U.S. patent, which the company says it has held since 1992.

QuadTech maintains that it holds patents for the same technology in a number of countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan, and will continue to protect itself against infringement.

"We will continue to be vigilant in protecting our intellectual property," QuadTech President Karl Fritchen said. "We are extremely pleased that the German courts ruled twice in our favor against Q.I. Press Controls and look for a similar outcome in the United States."