Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Price Erosion by Copycat Product Causes Irreparable Harm Sufficient for Preliminary Injunction

The court granted plaintiff’s motion for entry of a preliminary injunction enjoining defendant from manufacturing, marketing, and selling its accused products, finding that plaintiff was likely to suffer irreparable harm due to defendant’s infringement of plaintiff’s soil stabilizer patents. “[Plaintiff] is likely to suffer irreparable harm if [defendant] continues selling an infringing product, produced by infringing methods. . . . I am convinced that due to the price erosion of the product, combined with [plaintiff’s] size, [plaintiff] would suffer irreparable harm. . . . [Defendant’s] product is a copycat that appears to have pirated [plaintiff’s] patented technology and product formulation. This gave [defendant] the advantage of selling the same technology and product without investing in research, development, intellectual property, or market development efforts. Thus, [defendant] is able to offer its product to the market at a lower price than [plaintiff]. In contrast, [plaintiff] is seeking to recoup its investments through sales of its [patented] products. . . . I am thus convinced that [plaintiff] will suffer irreparable harm if [defendant] is continued to allow to sell its copycat product."

Encap LLC v. Oldcastle Retail Inc et al, 1-11-cv-00808 (WIED May 18, 2012, Order) (Griesbach, J.)

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