Allflex patent reward

Press, 20 July 1984, Page 8

Allflex patent reward

PA Wellington Allflex Holdings, Ltd, will reap damages of more than $1 million, plus royalties, until 1990, after successfully fighting a patent infringement in the United States, says the managing director, Mr W. C. McPhail, in the annual report. The fight, of more than five years, was with the YTex Corporation. During the period the company “traversed virtually the whole scene of patent law in the United States,” he says. The litigation saw a complete review and validity of

the patents upheld by the U.S. Patent Office, followed by a district court ruling confirming Y-Tex’s infringement. “While all the legal processes had not even been exhausted a conference of the parties involved reached an agreement to terminate the case.” The Patent Office finding means Allflex can now protect its patent against other infringers, Mr McPhail says; In other developments, the company has entered a development project with a Silicon Valley company to research electronic identification for on-farm compu-

terisation. Because of the move, Allflex has “put on hold”' areas of its own research • which has less promise and has transferred its New Plymouth subsidiary, Electronic Microcircuits, Ltd, to merge with its Palmerston North activities. The company log has stopped marketing electronic communication devices and research has been extended into product areas related to the dairy industry. Research and development spending was about 5 per cent of sales last year and is likely to be further

increased this year, he says. In the current financial year the company will further invest in plant and equipment and is proposing to acquire a majority interest in Rockwell France, SA, committing a significant proportion of reserves. “In terms of activity and gearing for the future, 198485 is likely to be our most demanding year yet.” The company’s management has expanded to cope with the growth in the last year. Relative to its size the company has emerged from the latest year strong financially, Mr McPhail says.