http://www.pctonline.com/news/news.asp?ID=3472
PCT Online
May 23, 2005
Court Issues Preliminary Injunction
in FMC Label Infringement Case Against CSI
PHILADELPHIA — Late last week a United States District
Court issued a preliminary injunction against Control Solutions
Inc. (CSI) in a case brought by FMC Corporation that is sure
to be watched closely by manufacturers and PCOs alike.
In its complaint, FMC alleges that label language used in Bifen
I/T insecticide/termiticide, a post-patent pyrethroid introduced
by CSI, infringes upon its flagship product — TalstarOne
multi-insecticide, which is used by pest management and lawn
care professionals to provide broad-spectrum control of more
than 75 species of pests.
"FMC has a long history of discovering, developing and
marketing unique pest control solutions according to the highest
standards and practices of our industry,” said Don Claus,
director, FMC Specialty Products Business. “We are very
pleased that the Court has ruled in our favor on this case.
The ruling clearly demonstrates the value of FMC’s efforts
to provide regulatory and commercial product stewardship to
the customers we serve.”
In responding to the court ruling, CSI President Mark Boyd
said, “Control Solutions has a long history of providing
quality, post-patent products to the industry. We believe there
was no willful intent to violate the rights of FMC or anyone
else; and we believe we did not in fact violate any rights,
and hope to prevail in trial. We are disappointed in the preliminary
ruling by the court. This case has not concluded. We will continue
to defend our past practices as being consistent with law and
the purposes of FIFRA to promote competition in the pesticide
market.”
The preliminary injunction ordered CSI and any entity acting
in concert with CSI, to:
(1) stop manufacturing the infringing label or causing the
label to be manufactured;
(2) halt using the infringing label;
(3) stop placing any product that has the infringing label affixed
to it into the stream of commerce;
(4) destroy all existing infringing labels; and
(5) immediately provide all of Bifen I/T’s distributors,
customers and sub-registrants with a copy of the preliminary
injunction order.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for June 6.
