Procopio Wins Major Jury Verdict for Large Global Japanese Conglomerate, Kaneka Corporation
August 12, 2013
San Diego, CA – Procopio and Kaneka Corporation (headquarters Osaka, Japan) announced today a significant victory in a jury trial on a patent infringement lawsuit against UNO & COMPANY LTD., a South Korean Corporation, JBS HAIR INC., a Georgia corporation, and Jinny Beauty Supply Company, a Texas corporation, in the US District Court of the Northern District of Texas.
In the lawsuit, Kaneka accused the defendants of infringing two of Kaneka’s U.S. patents relating to flame-retardant polyester fibers for artificial hair.
The jury found that three product lines distributed by JBS and Jinny Beauty Supply infringed Kaneka’s patents. It also found that UNO, which supplied the infringing artificial hair fibers used in hair products distributed by JBS, Jinny, and other downstream customers, induced the infringement of Kaneka’s patents. The jury awarded Kaneka $5.5M in damages, plus a royalty rate of 10 percent for sales going forward.
The Procopio team was led by Tony Dain, a veteran of more than 80 jury trials, and the chair of Procopio’s Intellectual Property Litigation team. “We couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” said Dain. “It was an absolute victory for our client. Kaneka is well-established in the industry, and together, we were well-prepared for the case. After two weeks in trial, the jury awarded us a well-earned full judgment.”
Tom Turner, the Managing Partner of Procopio, added, “Our Intellectual Property group is world class. The team is exceptional, and our performance on this case is illustrative of our capabilities. Under Tony’s leadership, we operated diligently and efficiently, and delivered a complete victory for our client. That’s what it’s all about – delivering on the expectations of our clients. Our client couldn’t be happier, and that makes us happy.”
About Kaneka
KANEKA CORPORATION (Tokyo Exchange: 4118), is a Japan-based chemical company engaged in seven business segments. With more than 8600 employees worldwide, the chemical segment offers caustic soda, chloride compounds, vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloride compounds, specialty vinyl chloride resin and others. The Functional Resin segment provides modifiers, modified silicon polymers and methyl methacrylate (MMA) film. The Form Resin segment offers foamed styrene resin, expanded polyolefin by bead method and extrusion foaming styrene boards. The Food segment produces and sells margarine, shortening, bakery yeast and spices. The Life Science segment provides medical products, medical equipment and functional food materials. The Electronics segment manufactures and sells resistance polyimide film, liquid crystal products, composite magnetic materials and photovoltaic cells. The Synthetic Fiber and Others segment offers acrylic fibers and engineering-related services. www.kaneka.co.jp
About Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
With more than 140 attorneys in San Diego, Del Mar and Silicon Valley (Menlo Park), Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP is one of the largest business law firms in Southern California. We are a law firm with a global network that gives us the ability to serve clients’ interests throughout the world. Procopio is dedicated to understanding the businesses and industries of clients and collaborating with them to develop tailored strategies. We advise companies at every stage in the corporate life cycle, helping them to plan, finance and operate their businesses. Since 1946, our success has been derived from our commitment to clients and our ability to maximize the value we provide to them. Our goal is to continue building long-term relationships with clients through a steady, team-oriented approach. For additional information, please visit www.procopio.com.
In the lawsuit, Kaneka accused the defendants of infringing two of Kaneka’s U.S. patents relating to flame-retardant polyester fibers for artificial hair.
The jury found that three product lines distributed by JBS and Jinny Beauty Supply infringed Kaneka’s patents. It also found that UNO, which supplied the infringing artificial hair fibers used in hair products distributed by JBS, Jinny, and other downstream customers, induced the infringement of Kaneka’s patents. The jury awarded Kaneka $5.5M in damages, plus a royalty rate of 10 percent for sales going forward.
The Procopio team was led by Tony Dain, a veteran of more than 80 jury trials, and the chair of Procopio’s Intellectual Property Litigation team. “We couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” said Dain. “It was an absolute victory for our client. Kaneka is well-established in the industry, and together, we were well-prepared for the case. After two weeks in trial, the jury awarded us a well-earned full judgment.”
Tom Turner, the Managing Partner of Procopio, added, “Our Intellectual Property group is world class. The team is exceptional, and our performance on this case is illustrative of our capabilities. Under Tony’s leadership, we operated diligently and efficiently, and delivered a complete victory for our client. That’s what it’s all about – delivering on the expectations of our clients. Our client couldn’t be happier, and that makes us happy.”
About Kaneka
KANEKA CORPORATION (Tokyo Exchange: 4118), is a Japan-based chemical company engaged in seven business segments. With more than 8600 employees worldwide, the chemical segment offers caustic soda, chloride compounds, vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloride compounds, specialty vinyl chloride resin and others. The Functional Resin segment provides modifiers, modified silicon polymers and methyl methacrylate (MMA) film. The Form Resin segment offers foamed styrene resin, expanded polyolefin by bead method and extrusion foaming styrene boards. The Food segment produces and sells margarine, shortening, bakery yeast and spices. The Life Science segment provides medical products, medical equipment and functional food materials. The Electronics segment manufactures and sells resistance polyimide film, liquid crystal products, composite magnetic materials and photovoltaic cells. The Synthetic Fiber and Others segment offers acrylic fibers and engineering-related services. www.kaneka.co.jp
About Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
With more than 140 attorneys in San Diego, Del Mar and Silicon Valley (Menlo Park), Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP is one of the largest business law firms in Southern California. We are a law firm with a global network that gives us the ability to serve clients’ interests throughout the world. Procopio is dedicated to understanding the businesses and industries of clients and collaborating with them to develop tailored strategies. We advise companies at every stage in the corporate life cycle, helping them to plan, finance and operate their businesses. Since 1946, our success has been derived from our commitment to clients and our ability to maximize the value we provide to them. Our goal is to continue building long-term relationships with clients through a steady, team-oriented approach. For additional information, please visit www.procopio.com.