Smith & Fong receives favorable judgment in patent litigation

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January 26, 2009 - Seattle, WA - Smith & Fong Co., of San Francisco, today announced it has received a favorable ruling on its Markman claim construction patent litigation with Teragren LLC, of Bainbridge Island, WA.

"This favorable ruling by the Court supports Smith & Fong's position that none of our products has ever infringed the patent licensed by Teragren," stated Dan Smith, founder and president of Smith & Fong Co. "It is my strong opinion that no strand bamboo product currently on the market infringes this patent."

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington stated in its Markman ruling that laminated or multilayer products, products made from uniform lengths of bamboo, and products not made from longitudinally staggered bamboo segments, were not covered under the patent licensed by Teragren. As a result of this ruling, strand bamboo products manufactured, marketed or sold by Smith & Fong are not covered by the patent rights claimed by Teragren.

A Markman claim construction ruling refers to a court order under Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., a Federal Circuit case affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, interpreting claims as a matter of law.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in San Francisco, Smith & Fong Co. was the first U.S. company to manufacture bamboo flooring in China for sale in North America, offering its initial product under the brand name Plyboo in 1993. In 1996 the firm began producing bamboo plywood, followed by coconut palm flooring and plywood products in 2000. Smith & Fong is committed to sustainability through innovation. For information call 866-835-9859 or visit http://plyboo.com.