A Connecticut federal jury has awarded $35.4 million to MacDermid Printing Solutions LLC after a successful breach of contract, antitrust and trade secrets theft suit against former business partner Cortron Corp.
The dispute stemmed from patent disputes with rival E.I DuPont de Nemours and Co. MacDermid filed the suit after its agreement with Cortron, to develop printing plate technology, went sour after DuPont filed patent infringement suits against both companies.
After a day of deliberation, the jury awarded mostly compensatory damages to MacDermid while disregarding Cortron’s counterclaims against its former partner.
Timothy Gotsick, the general manager of MacDermid, said, ‘Despite the misconduct of Cortron, we have been determined to serve customers with thermal platemaking solutions and we will continue to do so vigorously and enthusiastically. Having a jury of our peers ratify our claims was satisfying.’
The verdict resolves a dispute that began with a lawsuit MacDermid filed in October 2008 accusing Cortron of violating state and federal law pertaining to breach of contract and unfair restraint of trade, among other things, by reneging on a 2004 agreement to co-develop photopolymer technology used in printing plates.
Wrapped up in that business partnership were patent infringement suits DuPont had filed against both companies over the printing plate technology, and accusations that Cortron colluded with DuPont by sharing MacDermid’s trade secrets.
The 2004 agreement, amended in 2005, between MacDermid and Cortron to develop and manufacturer new printing technology was short-lived, according to court filings.
By 2006, DuPont had sued MacDermid, accusing company of infringing on its patent for thermal flexographic plates. DuPont said at the time that MacDermid had sought a license from DuPont for the plates, but DuPont declined. MacDermid proceeded to develop the plates anyway, according to DuPont.
In 2008, DuPont sued Cortron for direct infringement, saying that the technology Cortron was manufacturing for MacDermid infringed on its patent for thermally treated flexographic plates.
