Six attorneys from Sheridan Ross P.C. recently helped secure a favorable jury verdict for their client, WCM Industries, Inc. and its Watco Manufacturing Division in connection with the company’s patent infringement case against IPS Corp.
Following a 8-day jury trial in the Western District of Tennessee, the jury found that IPS willfully infringed six patent claims across three of WCM’s patents, and awarded WCM a $1 royalty for each infringing unit sold. Following the verdict, WCM moved to supplement the damages awarded by including sales of infringing units through the completion of trial. The defendant, IPS Corp., had previously reported sales of approximately 1.24 million units. The infringing products include IPS’s original and redesigned “Classic” bath waste and overflow products sold under the AB&A brand, including those sold with IPS’s “Press-in trim kit” products. The three WCM patents the jury found to be infringed are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,302,220, 8,231,970 and 8,584,272.
Given the jury’s finding of willfulness, IPS may be liable for enhanced damages up to three times the amount of actual damages awarded. In addition to the finding of willful infringement, the Sheridan Ross team successfully defended patent invalidity counterclaims asserted by IPS, and the jury found that all six patent claims are valid.
Sheridan Ross attorneys Ian Walsworth, Todd Blakely, David Kellis, Hiwot Covell, Kendria Pearson and John Heuton worked with attorneys Stanley Gibson of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP and Glen Reid Jr. of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP, to represent WCM in the lawsuit originally filed in January 2013.
Ian Walsworth
“This jury verdict was the result of a concerted team effort, which began almost three years ago. We are very pleased to have achieved this outcome for our client WCM,” said Sheridan Ross Shareholder Ian Walsworth.
About Watco Manufacturing
Independence, Mo.-based Watco Manufacturing has more than 100 patents and is the leading manufacturer of bathtub products including bathtub drains, bathtub stoppers, bathtub trim kits and bath waste products.
About Sheridan Ross P.C.
Founded in 1954, Sheridan Ross is the oldest intellectual property law firm in the Rocky Mountain region and has grown to include 44 attorneys and three patent agents. With advanced degrees and work experience in technical fields including computer software, biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, mathematics, chemistry, biochemistry, genetics and aeronautics – the firm’s professionals are also engineers, researchers, rocket scientists and more who work with clients from virtually every industry and technology to deliver relevant, cost-effective solutions to a broad range of IP legal needs.
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