3M Innovative Properties Co. v. Avery Dennison Corp.

185 F. Supp. 2d 1031, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3186, 2002 WL 257511
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 15, 2002
DocketCIV 01-1781 (DSD/FLN)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 185 F. Supp. 2d 1031 (3M Innovative Properties Co. v. Avery Dennison Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
3M Innovative Properties Co. v. Avery Dennison Corp., 185 F. Supp. 2d 1031, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3186, 2002 WL 257511 (mnd 2002).

Opinion

ORDER

DOTY, District Judge.

This matter is before the court upon plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction, defendant’s motion to submit the supplemental declaration of Anthony McHugh, and plaintiffs motion for leave to submit the supplemental declaration of Charles A. Calisto. Based on a review of the file, record and proceedings herein, and for the reasons stated, the court denies plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction, grants defendant’s motion to submit the supplemental declaration of Anthony McHugh, *1035 and grants plaintiffs motion for leave to submit the supplemental declaration of Charles A. Calisto.

BACKGROUND

This action involves the alleged infringement of a patent relating to advanced commercial adhesive products. Plaintiff 3M Innovative Properties Company (“3M”) produces, develops and markets adhesive-based products for the commercial graphics industry. Defendant Avery-Dennison Corporation (“Avery”) is a leading competitor in this market. 3M asserts that Avery’s “EZ Series Fleet Marketing Films” infringes upon 3M’s Comply product, specifically United States Patent No. 5,897,930 (the “ ’930 patent”).

Commercial graphic materials are used for advertising, logos and signs on the exterior of trucks, buses and other large vehicles. Instead of traditionally painting the advertisements onto the vehicles, computer generated logos and murals are created and generated onto a layer of film. Similar to a bumper sticker, the film has a “release liner” that when stripped off exposes a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The large sheet of film is then placed onto the vehicle, essentially “wrapping” the vehicle in the adhesive graphic. The task of “wrapping” a vehicle with the film is one that poses two problems: (1) positionability and (2) air entrapment.

A. Positionability

The problem of positionability occurs when the film is not correctly situated initially. There is a risk that the product will wrinkle, tear, or stretch when it is repositioned. In 1993, 3M addressed this problem with its Controltac products. Conventionally, the surfaces on both the release liner and the adhesive film are smooth. Controltac products, on the other hand, have a shaped release liner that imparts a special contour to the surface of the adhesive. The surface of the Control-tac adhesive is covered with bumps or protrusions that are made of glass beads and a small amount of adhesive. These bumps, naked to the human eye, are only a few microns high. 1

Because these bumps project out from the surface of the aggressive adhesive, they are the first to come into contact with the application surface. Instead of immediately adhering to the surface, because of the glass beads, the adhesive film can be slid over the surface until it is in the desired location. Once in place, the installer simply presses firmly down on the adhesive film, allowing the aggressive adhesive surrounding the beads to come into contact with the surface to form a permanent bond.

B. Air Entrapment

Installers of large scale commercial graphics also face the problem of air entrapment. When air becomes trapped beneath the film, the graphic’s appearance may become blemished by blisters or bubbles. To address this issue, 3M modified the adhesive surface by adding micron-scale channels to the release liner to allow air to “bleed” out of the edges of the adhesive film. The surface area of the release liner above the depressions are called “lands.” A high spot on the release liner creates a low spot on the adhesive film. The release liner is disclosed and claimed in the ’930 patent.

*1036 C. 3M’s Patent

3M marketed products with these two features, glass beads to better position the film and air channels to combat air entrapment, as “Controltac Plus Graphic Films with Comply Performance Adhesive Technology” (the Comply products). 3M received a patent for the technology included in the Comply products, patent ’930. The language of claim 1 of 3M’s ’930 patent, the relevant claim in this action, states:

A carrier web, comprising:
at least one surface that has a multiple embossed pattern having a first embossed pattern and a second embossed pattern, wherein the first embossed pattern forms an array of depressions, wherein the depressions of the first embossed pattern in the second embossed pattern, wherein the second embossed pattern comprises lands and ridges between the lands, and wherein the height of the ridges over the lands ranges from about 3 to 45 microns.

D. EZ Films

A leading competitor in commercial graphics, Avery developed a product which targets the same market as 3M’s Comply product. 3M asserts that Avery’s recently launched “EZ Series Fleet Marketing Films” (“EZ Films”) infringe upon the ’930 patent.

Avery’s primary product in the commercial graphics market has been its FT1000 product. This product was in direct competition with 3M’s Comply products. In 1998, Avery began developing a graphics film that addressed the problem of air entrapment that it faced with the FT1000 product. As a result of this effort, Avery created and launched EZ Films. EZ Films have a special release liner that has a honeycomb pattern of micron-scale ridges surrounding hexagonal lands. The ridges and lands create the air channels in the adhesive sheet. Additionally, the liner also has micron-scale depressions that correspond to the bumps on the surface of the adhesive strip. These bumps are created by depositing raised liquid ink dots on the liner and then hardening the dots through a UV curing process. In July 2001, Avery began selling its EZ Films to buyers in the commercial graphics market.

3M' argues that the release liner on Avery’s EZ Films product infringes upon claim 1 of the ’930 patent. 3M now seeks to enjoin Avery from making and selling its EZ Series Fleet Marking Films (“EZ Films”). 3M moves for a preliminary injunction. Based upon a review of the file, record and proceedings herein, and for the reasons stated, the court denies plaintiffs motion. 2

DISCUSSION

I. Plaintiffs Motion for a Preliminary Injunction

The grant or denial of a preliminary injunction is within the discretion of the district court. Amazon.com. Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, Inc., 239 F.3d 1343, 1350 (Fed.Cir.2001). As the moving party, 3M is entitled to a preliminary injunction if it can succeed in showing: (1) a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits, (2) irreparable harm if an injunction is not granted, (3) a balance of hardships tipping in its favor and (4) the injunction’s favorable impact on the public interest. See, e.g., id.; Purdue Pharma L.P. v. Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, 237 F.3d 1359, 1363 (Fed.Cir.2001). None of these factors is dispositive. Amazon.com. Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, Inc., 239 F.3d *1037 at 1350. Rather, the court weighs each factor against the others and against the form and magnitude of the relief sought.

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185 F. Supp. 2d 1031, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3186, 2002 WL 257511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/3m-innovative-properties-co-v-avery-dennison-corp-mnd-2002.