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Arlington Wins Injunction in Patent Lawsuit

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Arlington Industries Inc. against Bridgeport Fittings Inc., requiring Bridgeport to take 30 of its Whipper-Snap Connectors off the market immediately.  The 30 Whipper-Snap Connectors were previously found by a jury to infringe

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Arlington Industries Inc. against Bridgeport Fittings Inc., requiring Bridgeport to take 30 of its Whipper-Snap Connectors off the market immediately.

The 30 Whipper-Snap Connectors were previously found by a jury to infringe Arlington’s Patent on its SNAP-TITE and SNAP2IT Connectors. This ruling affirms Arlington’s right to a permanent injunction that prohibits Bridgeport from making or selling the 30 infringing Whipper-Snap Connectors. Arlington was also awarded more than $3.5 million in lost profits caused by Bridgeport’s infringing sales.

The permanent injunction specifically covers the following Bridgeport Whipper-Snap Connectors: 38ASP, GF38SP, SG38ASP, 8400SP, 850SP, 651SP, 802SP, 841SP, GF50SP, 380SP, SG38SP, 846SP, SG38MCIA, SG38SPL, 840SP, 4502SP, 4501SP, 845SPL, BL16ASP, 851ASP, 845SP, 802MCIA, BL16MCIA, 851SP, 845ASP, 8400MCIA, BL16SP, 84690SP, 651SPX, and 802ASP.

By denying Bridgeport’s latest motion, the Federal Circuit found that Bridgeport did not establish a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal from the jury’s patent infringement verdict. The Federal Circuit also affirmed a lower court’s finding that the public interest would not be harmed by removing Bridgeport’s products from the market, because electrical distributors and contractors can instead purchase Arlington’s patented SNAP-TITE and SNAP2IT Connectors.

In response to this latest court ruling, Tom Stark, president of Arlington Industries, noted that Bridgeport had infringed Arlington’s SNAP-TITE Patent for the past 10 years. “In fact, this is the second time Bridgeport has been required to take its infringing products off the market,” he stated. “We are pleased the Federal Circuit agreed with us, again, in this latest patent dispute with Bridgeport. Earlier this year, the Court ruled in favor of Arlington in its case against Bridgeport’s Whipper-Snap Duplex Connectors. We plan to file for an injunction against those products very soon.”

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