Milacron Holdings Corp. and Mid-America Machining Inc. have settled Mid-America's patent lawsuit over lightweight blow molded milk jugs.
The companies jointly announced the end of the jug battle on July 14. They said that court records show the lawsuit was dismissed May 10.
Mid-America Machining, based in Brooklyn, Mich., filed its lawsuit in June 2015 in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The suit covered by U.S. patents issued to Mid-America in 2013, 2014 and 2015 that covered a range of mold features on the lighter jugs. According to the suit, gallon jugs with the Mid-America design weigh 52 grams, vs. 60 to 62 grams for the average container.
Milacron had denied the claim, and said its own lightweight job has unique features unrelated to the Mid-America patents.
Terms of the settlement are confidential, both companies said.
Mark Berry, president and CEO of Mid-America Machining, said in a statement: “We are very pleased to return to our position in the marketplace as the exclusive provider of our patented lightweight container designs. Furthermore, we respect Milacron's right to make and sell its alternatively styled lightweight container designs.”
Berry said both companies “have a long history of serving the blow molding industry, and we look forward to resuming business as usual as we each strive to support our customers in a very competitive marketplace.”
Dave Skala, general manager of Milacron's global blow mold business, said both companies “know and respect each other very well.”
“I said at the outset of this lawsuit that Milacron has always respected other companies' patents, without compromise, just as we expect other companies to respect our patents,” Skala said in a statement. “I am pleased that we were able to resolve the dispute in a manner that clearly validated our commitment to those principles. I am happy that Milacron will be able to sell its advanced, proprietary and non-infringing lightweight container designs freely to those customers that prefer our design.”
Milacron is based in Blue Ash, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. The company's blow molded machinery operation, Uniloy, is based in Tecumseh, Mich.