Sudarshan wins Patent case against Clariant
A judgement was handed down by a European court in June that that Clariant Produkte (Deutschland GmbH), a German pigment manufacturer had been wrongfully claiming that a Sudarshan pigment, SudafastR Yellow 132 (PY191) infringed its patent.
It was also held that Clariant had issued unlawful threats to potential customers of Sudarshan. The court will now assess damages to be paid by Clariant to Sudarshan as a result of its wrongful threats. The court specifically stated that Sudarshan did not infringe Clariant's patent.
Initially, Sudarshan tried to resolve the matter with Clariant amicably and Sudarshan’s R&D Scientists, who had confidence that the concerned pigment did not infringe any patent, tried to explain the same to Clariant officials. But, Clariant continued to issue unlawful threats to Sudarshan’s customers. Since Sudarshan respects intellectual property rights, the company stopped promoting and selling SudafastTM Yellow 132 (PY191) in the overseas market and took the COURAGEOUS action to take Clariant to a European court.
The R&D team of Sudarshan had carried out a number of sophisticated experiments in order to elucidate what was going on during the manufacturing process of PY191. The team also submitted several independent technical reports and evidences of globally renowned scientists in the field of pigments. The honourable court accepted Sudarshan’s viewpoint beyond doubt and announced the judgement in favour of Sudarshan.
The court also accepted that Sudarshan suffered severe losses during the period of three years, due to the discontinuation of exports of SudafastTM Yellow 132 (PY191), and compensation damages will have to be paid by Clariant to Sudarshan as a result of its wrongful threats. This courageous step taken by Sudarshan is indeed an eye opener for the giant multinational industries which have been enjoying their monopoly over the market by virtue of their power.
Rajesh Rathi, head of Sudarshan’s pigment division states “This is a tremendous achievement for Sudarshan. Our reputation in the market place, which has been built over many years, is extremely important to us and to our customers. To win the court action so comprehensively is a fantastic endorsement of Sudarshan’s corporate values. Many individuals within Sudarshan were involved directly and indirectly in the preparations for the case and each one of them can feel proud.
As the largest producer of pigments in India, Sudarshan manufactures an extensive range of Organic, Inorganic and Pearlescent pigments and dispersions catering to the Coatings, Plastics, Inks and Cosmetics Industries worldwide. The product offerings of Sudarshan’s recognized brands include SudapermTM, SudafastTM, SudacolorTM, SumicaTM, SumicosTM, PrestigeTM and Flonac-cTM. Sudarshan’s development focus is on high performance pigments mainly for automotive coatings and plastics that are produced in state of the art manufacturing facilities.
Initially, Sudarshan tried to resolve the matter with Clariant amicably and Sudarshan’s R&D Scientists, who had confidence that the concerned pigment did not infringe any patent, tried to explain the same to Clariant officials. But, Clariant continued to issue unlawful threats to Sudarshan’s customers. Since Sudarshan respects intellectual property rights, the company stopped promoting and selling SudafastTM Yellow 132 (PY191) in the overseas market and took the COURAGEOUS action to take Clariant to a European court.
The R&D team of Sudarshan had carried out a number of sophisticated experiments in order to elucidate what was going on during the manufacturing process of PY191. The team also submitted several independent technical reports and evidences of globally renowned scientists in the field of pigments. The honourable court accepted Sudarshan’s viewpoint beyond doubt and announced the judgement in favour of Sudarshan.
The court also accepted that Sudarshan suffered severe losses during the period of three years, due to the discontinuation of exports of SudafastTM Yellow 132 (PY191), and compensation damages will have to be paid by Clariant to Sudarshan as a result of its wrongful threats. This courageous step taken by Sudarshan is indeed an eye opener for the giant multinational industries which have been enjoying their monopoly over the market by virtue of their power.
Rajesh Rathi, head of Sudarshan’s pigment division states “This is a tremendous achievement for Sudarshan. Our reputation in the market place, which has been built over many years, is extremely important to us and to our customers. To win the court action so comprehensively is a fantastic endorsement of Sudarshan’s corporate values. Many individuals within Sudarshan were involved directly and indirectly in the preparations for the case and each one of them can feel proud.
As the largest producer of pigments in India, Sudarshan manufactures an extensive range of Organic, Inorganic and Pearlescent pigments and dispersions catering to the Coatings, Plastics, Inks and Cosmetics Industries worldwide. The product offerings of Sudarshan’s recognized brands include SudapermTM, SudafastTM, SudacolorTM, SumicaTM, SumicosTM, PrestigeTM and Flonac-cTM. Sudarshan’s development focus is on high performance pigments mainly for automotive coatings and plastics that are produced in state of the art manufacturing facilities.