Ropak Settles Patent Infringement Suit Over Collapsible Bins : Agreement: Fullerton-based container maker will pay Perstorp Xytec Inc. of Tacoma, Wash., $1.4 million over the next three years for a non-exclusive license.
Ropak Inc. said Thursday that it has settled a patent infringement suit filed by a competing firm over a line of collapsible shipping bins.
Perstorp Xytec Inc. of Tacoma, Wash., will grant Ropak a non-exclusive license to Xytec’s patents on the bin. In exchange, the Fullerton designer and maker of containers will pay Perstorp Xytec $1.4 million over the next three years. The license is effective until 2004, when the patents on the product are due to expire.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Sept. 19, 1992 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday September 19, 1992 Orange County Edition Business Part D Page 2 Column 2 Financial Desk 1 inches; 29 words Type of Material: Correction; Corporate Earnings
Ropak Inc.--The Fullerton company reported profits of $2 million on sales of $50.6 million in the first six months of 1992. The company’s profits were incorrectly reported in Friday’s Business section.
A trial had been scheduled to begin in a Detroit federal court this month. “We thought we had a very good case going in, but it is very hard to predict what a jury is going to do,” Ropak spokesman Ronald Cameron said.
Ropak’s shares remained unchanged Thursday at $7 on the NASDAQ exchange.
Perstorp AB is a Swedish company that bought Xytec in May.
Perstorp Xytec holds the patent on a certain type of collapsible shipping container, which is plastic and is designed to hold manufactured parts. After being used, the containers are folded and returned to the shipper to be used again, saving landfill space.
In 1988, Ropak acquired Detroit-based JIT Inc., which had settled an earlier patent infringement suit brought by Xytec over JIT’s use of the collapsible bin. JIT paid $200,000 and undisclosed royalties to settle the suit.
Ropak bought the assets of JIT and began making a collapsible box. But last year, Perstorp won a preliminary injunction from the Detroit federal court against Ropak, charging that it was using its same designs. But Ropak claimed the box was based on unpatented designs.
After the preliminary injunction, Ropak redesigned the box and began manufacturing a new version. In March, Xytec accused Ropak of violating the injunction. But the judge ruled that the modified container was no longer the same and that Ropak was not in contempt.
The settlement also ends a countersuit Ropak filed in Orange County Superior Court that charged Perstorp Xytec with libel. Ropak officials claimed in its suit that Xytec had told Ropak’s customers, suppliers and bankers that it was near bankruptcy.
Cameron said the settlement payment “will not be material” to Ropak’s financial performance. The company posted profits of $491,000 in the first six months of 1992 on sales of $50.6 million.
