GreenShift-ing Focus to Pre-Grant Damages in Ethanol Processing Patent Suit

This from a Green Patent Blog:

The ‘858 Patent issued on October 13, 2009. The same day, GS filed suit in federal court in Manhattan accusing New Jersey-based separator and decanter maker GEA Westfalia Separator, Inc. (Westfalia) and multiple as yet unnamed defendants of contributory infringement and inducing infringement of the ‘858 Patent.

According to the complaint (greenshift-complaint.pdf), Westfalia sells centrifuges for corn oil extraction and directs its customers to use the methods taught in the ‘858 Patent.
Because the suit was filed upon patent issuance, GS’s recoverable damages are quite limited. So GS is claiming provisional patent rights under Section 154(d) of the patent statute, which allows recovery of a reasonable royalty if the infringer had actual notice of the published patent application and the claims of the issued patent are substantially identical to the originally published claims.

This strategy demonstrates the importance of promptly notifying any potential infringers as soon as your patent application publishes, which is 18 months after filing in the U.S.

Rest of Article here:
http://greenpatentblog.com/2009/11/05/greenshift-ing-focus-to-pre-grant-damages-in-ethanol-processing-patent-suit/

Here is an article credited:
http://cleantechlitigation.wordpress.com/category/biofuel/

SkunK