Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 1 of 7
1 THE HONORABLE ______2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE 9 RAUTE CORPORATION, a Finnish Case No. ______10 corporation, COMPLAINT FOR PATENT 11 Plaintiff, INFRINGEMENT vs. 12 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL VENEER TECHNOLOGY, INC., dba 13 VENTEK, INC., an Oregon corporation, 14 Defendant. 15 I. NATURE OF THIS LAWSUIT 16 1. Plaintiff Raute Corporation (“Raute”) has designed, manufactured and sold 17 equipment used to make wood veneer for many years. One of its innovative products is a 18 machine that sorts and selects randomly-sized pieces of veneer according to certain desired 19 characteristics. Raute’s sorting apparatus, known as a Raute Selector, is covered by patents 20 worldwide, including U.S. Patent No. 5,573,121. 21 2. Defendant Veneer Technology, Inc., dba Ventek, Inc. (“Ventek”) makes 22 optical scanners that can be used in the veneer production line, but has never made random 23 selector equipment. For several years, Ventek has had detailed access to Raute’s patented 24 Raute Selector technology gained during meetings with clients. Raute very recently 25 discovered that Ventek has used this knowledge to make and offer for sale its own random 26 sorting apparatus. Raute is informed and believes that Ventek has sold at least one of these
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 1 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1 Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 2 of 7
1 expensive machines to a U.S. customer, and that it is planning to deliver another machine 2 early next month (January 2012). 3 3. Ventek’s making, selling, using, selling and/or offering for sale its random 4 sorting machine violates the patent laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 271, 281, 283- 5 285. Ventek’s infringement enables Ventek to establish and grow relationships with Raute’s 6 clients and take Raute’s market share on these products and others. Because Ventek has 7 never sold random sorters before, it has been and will be able to use its infringing machinery 8 to make inroads to Raute’s clients that it could have never made without the benefit of 9 Raute’s technology. Raute asks this Court to preliminarily and permanently enjoin Ventek 10 from leveraging Raute’s patented inventions to gain market share, and to award Raute 11 damages caused by Ventek’s infringement.
12 II. THE PARTIES 13 4. Plaintiff Raute is a Finnish corporation having a principal place of business in 14 Finland. Raute’s wholly owned subsidiaries Raute Canada Ltd. and Raute USA, Inc., sell 15 products and provide services in the U.S. and throughout North America. 16 5. Defendant Veneer Techology, Inc., dba Ventek, Inc. is an Oregon corporation 17 with a physical location in Eugene, Oregon.
18 III. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 19 6. This action arises under the United States patent laws, 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq. 20 7. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 21 and 1338. 22 8. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Ventek because, on information and 23 belief: Ventek has continuous and systematic contacts with the State of Washington and this 24 forum, including with Weyerhaeuser Company in Federal Way, Washington. Such contacts 25 include regular visits to the Puget Sound area by agents of Ventek for the purposes of doing 26 business in this forum.
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 2 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1 Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 3 of 7
1 9. Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b), 1391(c), and/or 2 1400(b) because Ventek is a corporation that resides in this district.
3 IV. FACTS COMMON TO ALL CLAIMS 4 10. Raute is one of the world’s leading providers of products and services to 5 wood processers, particularly manufacturers of veneer, plywood, and laminated veneer 6 lumber. Raute has gained its market share by inventing machines that allow wood processers 7 to produce higher quality products at lower cost. These innovative machines are essential for 8 manufacturers to compete in the highly competitive wood products market. Raute is 9 committed to protecting its innovations and holds many patents in the wood processing field. 10 11. Raute owns U.S. Patent No. 5,573,121 (“the ‘121 Patent”), entitled “VENEER 11 SORTING APPARATUS,” issued November 12, 1996 (“Exhibit A”). All maintenance fees 12 have been paid. The ‘121 Patent is generally directed to a veneer sorting apparatus for sorting 13 a moving stream of arbitrarily-ordered, full-width, random-width, fishtail and trash veneer 14 pieces in response to a signal representative of a characteristic such as width. Among other 15 things, this technology enables automated sorting of veneer pieces that formerly required 16 human intervention. A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the invention is shown 17 below: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 3 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1 Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 4 of 7
1 12. Ventek has primarily been known for making optical scanners that are used in 2 the veneer process line. Until very recently, Ventek has not made or sold random selector 3 equipment. 4 13. Ventek knows about Raute’s products and patents because over the years, 5 Ventek has provided scanners to Raute’s clients, and has been involved in meetings where 6 the Raute Selector apparatus has been discussed. For example, in or about May 2007, Raute 7 representatives met with Georgia Pacific in its facility in Taylorsville, Mississippi, to discuss 8 details of a proposed installation of a Raute Selector. Ventek’s president Rodger Van 9 Voorhees and other Ventek personnel attended the meeting to discuss how the Raute Selector 10 would interface with Ventek’s clipper scanner. At this meeting, the parties discussed the 11 technical details of Raute’s Random Selector, and reviewed Raute documentation that 12 specifically referred to the “patented Selector.” 13 14. Although Raute closely monitors the wood processing industry, it had never 14 heard of or seen any Ventek selector product until two months ago. On October 22-25, 2011, 15 Raute participated in the American Panel Association Information Fair tradeshow at the 16 Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. 17 15. At the APA trade show, Ventek promoted its new Green Random Multi-Point 18 Diverter System (“Ventek Diverter”) in a booth that contained multiple detailed photographs 19 and drawings of the apparatus. When Raute representatives visited the Ventek booth, they 20 were surprised to notice the marked similarities between the Ventek Diverter and the Raute 21 Selector claimed in the ‘121 Patent. Raute took several photographs at the trade show, which 22 showed in detail the construction of the Ventek Diverter. 23 16. After comparing the Ventek Diverter to the claims of the ‘121 Patent, counsel 24 for Raute informed Ventek that its product infringed the ‘121 Patent in a letter dated 25 November 8, 2011. Ventek’s counsel responded with a cursory letter denying infringement, 26 but giving no details or explanation for its conclusion.
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 4 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1 Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 5 of 7
1 V. VENTEK INFRINGES THE ‘121 PATENT 2 17. On information and belief: Ventek has been and is directly infringing at least 3 claims 1 and 8 of the ‘121 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a) by making, using, selling and/or 4 offering for sale the Ventek Diverter. Ventek has sold and installed at least one Ventek 5 Diverter to Martco Limited Partnership in Chopin, Louisiana, on or around November 2011. 6 Ventek has also sold or offered to sell another Ventek Diverter to Timber Products in Yreka, 7 California. Raute understands that this machine has not yet been installed but is expected to 8 be installed in January. 9 18. Each sale of an infringing Ventek Diverter causes immediate and irreparable 10 harm to Raute. The Random Selectors are expensive machines with a long useful life, selling 11 for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The market for these machines and other veneer 12 processing equipment is limited to a small number of wood veneer producers. Raute has 13 spent years developing relationships with these producers by providing a variety of 14 innovative machines used for making wood veneer as well as providing ongoing service and 15 advice. Although Raute sells various pieces of equipment on a piece-by-piece basis, Raute is 16 also the only manufacturer that provides an entire veneer processing line as a package. 17 19. Ventek has not previously been a serious competitor to Raute, because Ventek 18 has focused its product line on discrete component parts such as an optical scanner, rather 19 than larger machines or entire production lines. But it is clear that Ventek now seeks to 20 become a player in this industry by expanding its product lines to capture a larger share of 21 the market, using Raute’s patented technology. 22 20. Not many Random Selector/Diverter machines are sold in a year. Each new 23 sale of Ventek’s Diverter allows Ventek to put a large piece of equipment in a customer’s 24 factory, which requires constant attention and service. This gives Ventek many opportunities 25 to develop the relationship with the customer, and to market additional products and services. 26 Ventek is thus using Raute’s patented technology to establish a beachhead with Raute’s
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 5 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1 Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 6 of 7
1 customers, gaining opportunities it would not otherwise have. 2 21. Any further sales or offers for sale of infringing Ventek Diverters will cause 3 imminent and irreparable harm to Raute. It will be extremely difficult to fully compensate 4 Raute for this harm by money damages, because the value of customer relationships and 5 market share in this industry is not readily quantified. Ventek’s infringement of the ‘121 6 Patent has injured and will continue to injure Raute unless and until the Court preliminarily 7 enjoins further infringement of the ‘121 Patent during the pendency of this case.
8 VI. JURY DEMAND 9 Raute requests a trial by jury of all issues so triable.
10 VII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF 11 WHEREFORE, Raute asks this Court to enter judgment against Ventek granting the 12 following relief: 13 A. A judgment declaring that Ventek has infringed the ‘121 Patent; 14 B. A judgment, order, or award of damages adequate to compensate Raute for 15 Ventek’s infringement of the ‘121 Patent, in no event less than a reasonable royalty, 16 together with prejudgment interest from the date infringement of the ‘121 Patent began; 17 C. A preliminary injunction prohibiting Ventek and its subsidiaries, affiliates, 18 parents, successors, assigns, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and all other persons 19 acting with Ventek or on its behalf from making, using, selling, or offering to sell the 20 Ventek Diverters; 21 D. An accounting to determine information relevant to establishing the extent of 22 Ventek’s infringement and amount of Raute’s damages; 23 E. An award of costs and attorneys’ fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285, to the 24 extent the Court finds this case to be exceptional; 25 F. An order trebling the damage award under 35 U.S.C. § 284, together with 26 prejudgment interest; and
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 6 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1 Case 2:11-cv-02158-MJP Document 1 Filed 12/23/11 Page 7 of 7
1 G. Such other and further relief as this Court may deem proper and just. rd 2 Dated this 23 day of December, 2011.
3 SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. 4
5 By: s/ Johnathan E. Mansfield Johnathan E. Mansfield, WSBA#27779 6 [email protected] Devon Zastrow Newman, WSBA#36462 7 [email protected] Facsimile: 503.796.2900 8 Trial Attorney: Johnathan E. Mansfield 9 Attorneys for Raute Corporation 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 7 Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900 PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1