PureShield sues over COVID-19 disinfectant
Antimicrobial company PureShield has accused its competitor Allied BioScience of infringing ten patents through the sale of a surface disinfectant, which claims protection against COVID-19 for up to seven days.
The suit, filed Monday, September 28 at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, claimed that Allied BioScience has been making antimicrobial products that infringe the patents since 2008.
“Plaintiffs, therefore, file this action to protect their investments, patent rights, and goodwill as well as to encourage continued innovations in antimicrobial technologies,” claimed the suit.
Allied BioScience’s SurfaceWise2 disinfectant is currently being used by American Airlines and an orthopaedic company in Texas.
In August, the company obtained an emergency regulatory exemption to use its SurfaceWise2 disinfectant, without undergoing a full US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration process, said the suit.
“Relying on this limited EPA exemption, Allied BioScience has been falsely advertising SurfaceWise2 as the first-ever EPA-registered protectant effective against pathogens ... EPA records, however, clearly state that SurfaceWise2 remains an ‘unregistered product’,” alleged PureShield, which added that its products have been registered with the EPA since at 2011.
PureShield’s products are based on “intricate chemical processes that utilise” silanol quaternary ammonium compound (SAQC) and, according to the suit, Allied BioScience is selling antimicrobial SQAC products.
Allied BioScience’s website also allegedly includes a section titled ‘Competitors’ that “disparages its competition … with false statements” and these statements “deceive a substantial portion of consumers to base purchasing decisions on these misrepresentations”.
PureShield has claimed that, based on these false statements, sales are likely being diverted from it to Allied BioScience.
The plaintiff has asked the court to find infringement of each of the ten patents, a permanent injunction against further infringement and false advertising, and damages.
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