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Innovative Sidel patent successfully enforced for third time

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Sidel has yet again succeeded in protecting its intellectual property (IP) in the US. This is the third time the company has enforced its IP rights on the same key innovation, which demonstrates Sidel’s commitment to developing and implementing innovative PET solutions and to protecting its rights to such innovations.

The patent claims made by Sidel against the U.S. company Blow Mold Services (BMS) resulted in BMS being barred from selling new and rebuilt components featuring Sidel’s spindle chain technology and the validity of Sidel’s patent US 6,125,996 being reconfirmed. A critical part of the blow moulder, the spindle chain, transports the preforms within the oven for efficient heating prior to blowing. Sidel’s technology is precision engineered to withstand high oven temperatures for long time periods, delivering the preforms to the moulds in optimum condition for reliable blowing and overall performance.

The settlement with BMS was reached in October 2014, and prior settlements regarding infringement of the same U.S. patent had been reached with B&G Products and XL Engineering.

Sidel’s focus on innovative technologies is evidenced by its more than 620 patent families – over 50% of them focused on its blow moulders alone – which are maintained in key jurisdictions around the world. Recent technological innovations include Sidel Matrix™, Sidel StarLite™, RightWeight™ and Predis™ – the world’s first dry preform decontamination technology that remains one of the most pivotal advancements in sustainable PET packaging technology and safety.

“We work closely with our customers to find the right solutions to improve their production lines; to keep up with the fast-paced market demands; and to meet the needs of consumers, both today and tomorrow”, says Alessandro Paini, Sidel Vice President of Product Management.

With over 160 years’ experience, Sidel is proud of its technological and engineering innovations, all of which are designed to enable Sidel equipment to perfectly adapt to its customers’ varying beverage production requirements, improving product safety and ensuring smooth, consistent operation. Use of Sidel OEM technologies ensures that the equipment can withstand the stresses and pressures of high output beverage lines. The use of non-original third party parts, therefore, poses significant risks of premature wear and damage to the equipment, resulting in reduced performance and higher production and maintenance costs. Original Sidel Services™ spare parts are designed, tested and approved by Sidel engineers to provide long term security in production.

In response to this latest IP enforcement, which ensures that Sidel can continue delivering the most reliable, highly-efficient equipment to its customers, Tim Bast, Sidel’s Vice President of Intellectual Property comments, “Our strong focus on IP protection and zero tolerance of any infringement of our patents enables us to continue to invest and bring innovative PET solutions to our customers to help them better serve the market”.

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