NEWS

US court decides on battle on deck  

27 July 2010

Akron, OH, USA:  Another chapter unfolds in the “David versus Goliath” patent case between two competing companies, PlasDECK and Flexiteek. 

PlasDECK, Inc. recently received notice that the injunction placed on the company’s synthetic teak decking material has been terminated by the U.S. District Court Judge in Southern Florida because the U.S. Patent Office has rejected the Whitaker patent used by Flexiteek (#6,895,881 a.k.a. the “’881 Patent”). The patent was rejected on two counts. The first count states that the patent was anticipated by an earlier patent, and the second states that it is obvious in view of three other patents.

This decision has been awaited by PlasDECK. Because the issues in this patent case refer to the underside of the decking material, PlasDECK has been offering a product with an embossed bottom to eliminate any remote possibility of infringement. 

However, the removal of the injunction will allow PlasDECK to manufacture, sell, and install any of their products, worldwide. After the lengthy and expensive court case with Flexiteek International, a large multi-national corporation from Norway, PlasDECK announced that it is pleased that their position has been recognized by the U.S. Patent Office and the Federal District Court.

“We would like to publicly extend our gratitude to our customers and installers for their support and patience over the past year as we have been working to resolve these issues. We haven’t lost a single OEM customer and the list of boat manufacturers that use our products continues to grow.” says Bill Gribble, President of PlasDECK, Inc. 

“It’s been a real battle of David and Goliath, but the public’s support for our company has helped us through these trying times.”  he added.

PlasDECK comes from the makers of PlasTEAK, a small family-owned U.S. company that has worked hard to earn its place in the marine industry over the past fifteen years. PlasDECK, the only synthetic teak decking that’s made in the USA, now has two U.S. Patents (#7,578,251 and #7,617,791) that successfully validate the unique state-of-the-art properties of their decking material. 

PlasDECK claims that it has always remained confident of the innovative design and formula of their product and will keep working to improve their material.

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