by Amy Antenora
Managing Editor, aftermarketNews.com
CLEVELAND, OH — Yesterday, ArvinMeritor announced that it had filed a lawsuit in Charlotte, N.C., Federal Court against Cleveland, Ohio-based Eaton Corp. for infringement over a transmission patent.
The patent covers an ArvinMeritor transmission automation technology, which was developed for the ArvinMeritor ESS transmission, a model that has been superceded by higher technology. ArvinMeritor is seeking an injunction to stop the sale of Eaton Transmission models UltraShift and AutoShift, which use this technology, as well as for damages for past infringement.
Eaton Corp. has issued a statement in response to the suit. In an email sent yesterday to aftermarketNews.com, the company stated that it has reviewed the complaint, which was filed on Aug. 27 by ArvinMeritor. The company said it believes that its claim of patent infringement is without foundation.
“We firmly believe that ArvinMeritor’s transmission automation technology patent is invalid and that Eaton’s UltraShift and AutoShift technologies do not infringe upon it,” Eaton Corp. stated in the email.
The company also noted in the email another previous, related legal battle during which Eaton sued ArvinMeritor, ZF Meritor LLC and ZF Friedrichshafen AG on December 4, 2003 claiming that their FreedomLine transmission system infringes upon Eaton’s patent rights. This case will be heard before the International Trade Commission beginning on Sept. 2, 2004. Eaton said it expects to prevail in the case.
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