http://www.manufacturing.net/ctl/ind...cleid=CA269801
http://www.controlmagazine.com/Web_F...ID/DFUO-5HEVD8
http://www.bustpatents.com/
Some of the complaint filed by Rockwell Automation and
Rockwell Software against Schneider Automation, Solaia Technology
(the two firms in control of the patents) and Niro Scavone Haller &
Niro. The suit was filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
1. This lawsuit arises out of the concerted action undertaken
by Defendants to extract substantial sums of money from the
indutrial automation customers of Rockwell through an ongoing,
bad-faith campaign to "enforce" and "license" a certain patent
(U.S. patent 5,038,318, the '318 patent). In furtherance of
this conspiracy, Defendants have made and continue to make
false and objectively-baseless claims of patent infringement
against numerous manufacturers, particularly manufacturers
that use Allen-Bradley industrial automation products, and
thereby have caused injury to Rockwell in its business and
injury to competition in one or more markets for industrial
automation systems. In particular, as part of their plan to
injure Rockwell and disrupt competition, the Conspirators have
made baseless threats and allegations against manufacturing entities
that those manufacturers are infringing the '318 patent by,
among other things, using Rockwell-Allen-Bradley products;
have overstated in a reckless and misleading fashion the scope,
applicability and importance of the '318 patent to suppliers and
users of industrial automation equipment in general; and have
instituted repetitive, baseless, sham patent infringement litigation
against those manufacturers. The manufacturers threatened and/or
sued are potential customers of Scheider, a Rockwell rival.
2. Defendants' baseless threats, aleegations, and unfounded
lawsuits have been directed at numerous manufacturers, including
particularly users of Rockwell-Allen-Bradley industrial
automation equipment, without regard to the underlying merits of
the claimed infringement of the '318 patent and without an
objectively reasonable expectation of success on the merits of
their claims. In fact, Defendants have no objective of obtaining
adjudication on the merits of their claims. Rather, the Defendant's
campaign of baseless and reperitive threats, allegations and suits
has been undertaken to capitalize on the collateral effects of
those activities in an apparent effect: (a) to "shakedown"
manufacturers through threats of potential business interruption
or catastrophic damages and the certainty of substantial fees
and costs required to defend themselves in protected litigation;
and (b) to disrupt, damage and interfere with Rockwell's
relationship with both its actual and prospective customers
for industrial automation equipment.