Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 09, 2013 02:00 AM

Patent-lawsuit firm sues window makers

Michael Lauzon
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    A New York firm claims that 10 companies are infringing on its patents for window-frame construction.

    “We are looking for amicable cases, not just lawsuits,” said Robert Berman, president and CEO of CopyTele Inc., the Melville, N.Y., parent company of the firm launching the lawsuits. Berman said in a telephone interview that subsidiary J-Channel Industries Corp. also will pursue royalties from window companies not named in the lawsuits.

    Ten companies face civil suits in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, Tenn., after J-Channel filed its complaint and suits Aug. 7.

    J-Channel was created as a subsidiary of CopyTele to pursue alleged window-frame patent infringement, Berman said. Copy¬- Tele's primary business is “monetization and assertion of patents.”

    CopyTele announced the lawsuits in an Aug. 8 news release.

    J-Channel holds a patent on window-frame construction technology. The system includes a J-shaped plastic or metal trim for the window that supports soffit or siding. CopyTele said the system allows for easier installation of windows in conventional, manufactured and modular homes. In a patent, the inventor claims the system performs well even when cold temperatures cause siding to contract.

    One of the companies named in the lawsuits is Ply Gem Industries Inc., a major vinyl profile extruder based in Cary, N.C., that makes vinyl windows and doors, siding, fencing, trim and moldings, gutters and veneer.

    Other companies with window operations that face lawsuits are Atrium Windows and Doors Inc., a Dallas-based fabricator of vinyl and aluminum windows; Elixir Industries Inc., a Mission Viejo, Calif., aluminum window producer; Jeld-Wen Inc., a Woodbridge, Ontario, vinyl window fabricator; Kinro Manufacturing Inc., a Goshen, Ind., vinyl window fabricator; Pella Corp. of Pella, Iowa, which makes vinyl windows; RGF Industries Inc. of Pittsburgh, which distributes vinyl windows; Tafco Corp., a vinyl window producer in Melrose Park, Ill., Lowe's Cos. Inc. of Mooresville, N.C., a distributor of home-improvement products; and Clayton Homes Inc., a major producer of manufactured and modular homes in Maryville, Tenn.

    “Our inventor is a former window manufacturer that was forced out of the business by a consortium of larger, more powerful competitors, who misappropriated his J-Channel technology,” Berman said. “After licensing the technology to a few manufacturers, the original J-Channel patent was invalidated in patent litigation over 10 years ago due to discrepancies in the claim language. Following the litigation, the inventor fortified the claim language to eliminate the discrepancies, and the patent office re-issued the patent.”

    According to records filed with the court, the U.S. Patent Office reissued a patent on window-frame technology to its inventor, Leland D. Sayers of Knoxville, Tenn., in February 2008. The patent number is RE 40041. It was a re-issue of patent 5,660,010 from August 1997.

    Berman said the re-issue of a stronger patent and a royalty rate has been established based on the previous licenses. The patent infringement has become an industry standard, he added.

    Sanders has no official position with J-Channel, but he has a revenue-sharing arrangement with the firm, Berman said. Berman would not disclose the royalty level J-Channel expects from patent infringers. Some companies paid royalties on the original patent but did not pay them after the patent was re-issued, according to Berman.

    He claimed Leland's company, Sealmaster LLC of Knoxville, was forced out of business several years ago by a competitor's pressure tactics.

    Ply Gem is North America's fifth-largest pipe, profile and extrusion firm, with annual profile sales of about $740 million, including recent acquisitions, according to estimates in Plastics News' recent survey of the sector. Ply Gem's total sales in 2012 were $1.12 billion. It runs 11 vinyl extrusion plants in the U.S. and Canada.

    Ply Gem officials were unavailable at deadline to comment on the lawsuits.

    CopyTele said on its website that its management has more than 30 years of combined experience in patent monetization and assertion and has generated more than $150 million in patent licensing revenues. It now has 66 U.S. patents and 11 patent applications in five technology areas besides window-frame construction. It is a public company listed on the OTC exchange.

     

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Pretium to pay $252,700 in sex discrimination settlement
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Clean Vision to spend $50M on West Virginia pyrolysis plant
    2
    Plastics treaty talks get down to specifics
    3
    PP resin prices saw a big drop in May
    4
    At plastics treaty, designing bottle bills for the 'Global South'
    5
    MGS adds product design to offerings with acquisition
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified