DSM Desotech Inc. today announced that they have filed a descriptive seizure proceeding against Farbwerke Herkula St. Vith S.A. with Liège Court in Belgium. The suit will investigate potential patent-related infringements involving Herkula UV-curable fiber optic inks. On July 1, a Belgium court-appointed specialist visited Herkula's St. Vith facility to gather evidence for the investigation.
“Today's action is very important for the protection of DSM Desotech's intellectual property rights in this high-tech market," said Patrick Niels, Vice President of Fiber Optic Materials for DSM Desotech. "As the industry leader in UV-curable fiber optic materials development, it is critical for DSM—and the customers who rely on our products—that we protect our innovations by actively enforcing our global patent positions.”
DSM Desotech is the world's leading supplier of UV-curable coatings, inks and matrix materials for the optical fiber industry. In 1988, the company introduced Cablelite® UV-curable inks to the market and, since that time, has developed an extensive intellectual property portfolio around the product line. Cablelite inks are currently sold into more than 30 countries worldwide. In 1999, a second generation of Cablelite inks—Cablelite® 751— was commercialized.
DSM Desotech operates its Fiber Optic Materials business from its headquarters in Elgin, Illinois, with manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., Europe and Japan. In addition to supplying materials to the optical fiber industry, Desotech also develops UV-curable coatings, adhesives and solid imaging resins used in a variety of other industries including automotive, displays, aerospace and consumer electronics. For more information, visit www.dsmdesotech.com.
DSM Desotech is a business unit of DSM N.V. DSM is active worldwide in life science products, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The group has annual sales of close to EUR 5.6 billion and employs approximately 18,500 people at more than 200 sites across the world. DSM ranks among the global leaders in many of its fields. The company’s strategic aim is to grow its sales – partly through acquisitions – to a level of approximately EUR 10 billion by 2005. By that time at least 80% of sales should be generated by specialties (i.e. advanced chemical and biotechnological products for the life science industry and performance materials). This strategy represents a continuation of the company’s ongoing transformation and concentration on global leadership positions in high-added-value activities characterized by high growth and more stable profit levels. More information about DSM can be found at www.dsm.com.
