Court Dismisses Patent Lawsuit Against U.S. Ecology

Date: October 17, 2002

Source: News Room

A U.S. District Court judge in Nevada has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit filed against American Ecology Corp.'s U.S. Ecology Inc. unit. The suit, filed in March 1996, alleged waste treatment techniques at the company's Beatty, Nev., hazardous waste facility infringed on a sludge processing patent held by plaintiff Frank Manchak Jr. The patent in question expired in 1994. The judge concluded U.S. Ecology's technique wasn't even "remotely similar" to the process described in Manchak's patent. Manchak's company, ATW Inc., had filed suits against 11 companies alleging infringement of the patent, which covers the use of lime to mitigate harmful substances. More information: www.americanecology.com.

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