Stormwater filter patent infringement lawsuit dismissed, to be appealed

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit recently brought by CONTECH Stormwater Solutions Inc. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake issued a court order on Sept. 25, 2007, granting BaySaver Technologies, Inc.’s motion for a summary judgment in the case.

CONTECH filed the lawsuit against BaySaver in February 2007, claiming that a BayFilter product introduced in July 2006 infringed on two patents held by CONTECH for its StormFilter Media Filtration System. In the court’s decision, BaySaver says, its BayFilter product line was deemed not to infringe on either of the two patents. "The court found that the BayFilter uses a siphon that adheres to the ordinary understood definition of this term, while the StormFilter does not," BaySaver said in a statement. "The court further issued a ruling that the case be closed."

However, CONTECH says it will ask an appellate court specializing in patent law to review and overturn the lower court’s decision. "CONTECH’s commitment to continuing this legal action is based on its belief that the BayFilter product takes advantage of the same technology that is covered by the CONTECH patents, and as a result, infringes on CONTECH’s patent rights," the company said in its statement.