Tech-ni-Fold Ltd., the UK-based print finishing manufacturer, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against F. P. Rosback Company, based in Michigan, USA. The suit, Tech-ni-Fold Ltd. v. F.P. Rosback Company, No. 14-cv-5737, is now pending before Judge Virginia M. Kendall in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Tech-ni-Fold's complaint states that Rosback's TrueScore-Pro products infringe Tech-ni-Fold's US Patent No. 6,572,519. 

Rosback, manufacturers of bindery equipment including a range of scoring machines, had previously agreed to cease selling a version of the Rosback TrueScore-Pro, after receiving a letter from Tech-ni-Fold's legal counsel in July 2013.

A month later, however, Rosback re-entered the market with a “modified” TrueScore-Pro product. Upon evaluating the new Rosback design and comparing it to Tech-ni-Fold's patent portfolio, Tech-ni-Fold filed the pending infringement suit.  Tech-ni-Fold has asked the Court to enjoin Rosback from further infringing the '519 Patent and to award Tech-ni-Fold damages and costs, including attorneys' fees for willful infringement. 

Comment from Graham Harris, Tech-ni-Fold Ltd. Managing Director and inventor of the Tri-Creaser®

“Fighting potential and actual patent infringement is, sadly, part of my working life. This is the third time we have dealt with such issues in the USA alone in the last four years, and I will again do everything in my power to assist my lawyers in reaching the just conclusion, no matter how long it takes, and no matter what it may cost financially. I will go through the journey of this case, as it pans out, with the comfort of knowing that I am representing the lone inventor who works hard to get an idea into the market in an honest fashion. Although we have the resources to fight for our rights through litigation, my hope is that more is done to help those who cannot afford to defend their ideas and enforce their rights when situations like this occur. Ultimately we are trusting in the legal system, which can harshly penalize companies who are found guilty of willful infringement.”  

Tech-ni-Fold Ltd. has sold over 85,000 Tri-Creaser® devices world-wide since its introduction in 1999, and their biggest market is the USA. The independently owned and operated Technifold USA, Inc., based in New Jersey, is the exclusive distributor of the Tech-ni-Fold range of products in the USA and Canada. The Tri-Creaser® fits onto popular makes of folding machines to prevent folded products from cracking during the finishing process