Livingston Plastics Manufacturer Dragged Into Patent Dispute With Rival

The Livingston-based Inteplast Group – one of the largest manufacturer of integrated plastics in North America – has been named as a defendant in a patent infringement complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).

The complaint, launched by competing plastics manufacturer Reynolds Presto Products, also names Minigrip of Alpharetta, Georgia, as a defendant.

According to the complaint, the two defendants manufacture a type of bag that is “strikingly similar” to Reynolds Presto Products’ “Private Label” brand of plastic bags, which are sold to third party companies such as Kroger’s to use for their own lines of products.

The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337).

According to a letter sent by the plaintiff’s attorneys:

“The products at issue are resealable packages with slider devices that infringe the Asserted Patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,427,421; 6,524,002; and 7,311,443. Presto seeks a general exclusion order to prevent all infringing resealable packages with slider devices from entry into the United States, including those of the proposed respondents. Alternatively, Presto seeks a limited exclusion order directed to the proposed respondents: Inteplast Group, Ltd. and Minigrip, LLC, excluding from entry into the United States certain infringing resealable packages with slider devices imported by the proposed respondents. Presto also seeks a cease and desist order prohibiting the proposed respondents from engaging in the unlawful importation and/or sale within the United States after importation of certain infringing resealable packages with slider devices.”

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