Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990 TAG: 9005160153
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Courtaulds of Martinsville sued Commonwealth for patent infringement and misuse of trade secrets.
In Roanoke on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James C. Turk upheld Courtaulds' patent for making weatherproof-polyester film, often used to tint car windshields, and said he found overwhelming evidence that its trade secrets are subject to legal protection.
According to the suit, Tom Draper, a former Martin Processing employee, left the company five years ago and took trade secrets and a patent with him.
In the court agreement, Courtaulds acquired the assets of Commonwealth. The Commonwealth name will not be used.
Commonwealth has "apparently done a good job" in its market, said David Sahud, chairman of Courtaulds Performance Films.
The sale of some of Courtaulds' film has been slow because of strict state and federal regulations, Sahud said.
State laws have hurt sales in California, Florida, Maryland and Wisconsin, he said. "Virginia is somewhere in the middle" with its legislation regulating tinted windows, Sahud said. Some police departments have claimed that tinted windows prevent adequate view of a car's interior.
Courtaulds has more than 400 employees and the Commonwealth plant has about a dozen.
by CNB