Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Rogers Alleges Isola Laminate Infringement

ROGERS, CT - Rogers Corp. has filed suit in U.S. district court claiming a larger competitor is infringing on a pair of patents through the manufacture of one of its high frequency laminates.

In the suit, Rogers alleges Isola Laminate Systems is infringing by making, using, selling and importing a material known as IS640, a low-loss circuit board laminate.

Isola responded that it will vigorously defend itself against the claims.

"Our policy is to aggressively enforce our patents, with a proven track record of doing so," Rogers president and CEO Robert Wachob said.

However, Isola said the claim lacked prior notice -- which, the company says, is "consistent with Isola's belief that the lawsuit is without merit and is intended by Rogers Corporation as a tactic to maintain its short-term competitive position in the high frequency circuit board laminate market."

"We learned of Rogers' concerns ... several months ago and we were doing everything in our power to demonstrate that our IS640 product cannot infringe their patents." said Isola Group chief executive Ray Sharpe, in a statement. "Rogers feigned cooperation with our attempts to resolve the issues amicably through showing that we do not infringe, I was disappointed when they served the complaint and issued a press release without the courtesy of giving us advance notice."

Isola USA Corp. has a patent pending on the product in question.

The patents in question are U.S. Patent nos. 5,571,609 and 5,972,811, which cover polybutadiene and polyisoprene thermoset laminates. Rogers makes several lines of high frequency laminates under the trade names RO3000, RO4000, DUROID, RT/duroid TMM and ULTRALAM.

"We invest heavily in developing patented materials," Wachob said. "The validity and value of intellectual property are critical to our rapidly growing business in wireless communications."

Rogers Alleges Isola Laminate Infringement

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