Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Company (Par-Kan) Sued for Alleged Patent Infringement

Kalida, Ohio – The Plaintiff, UNVERFERTH MFG. CO., INC., filed suit against Silver Lake, Indiana company, PAR-KAN CO., LLC for patent infringement under U.S. Patent Laws, 35 U.S.C. §§ 271, 281, 283, 284, and 285.

According to the complaint, Unverferth manufactures, uses, and sells seed tender products protected by legally issued U.S. Patent No. 8,967,940 (“the ’940 patent”) and U.S. Patent No. 9,745,123 (“the ’123 patent”).  In accordance with statutory marking provision of 35U.S.C. § 287(a), Unverferth has affixed serial numbers to its products to identify the patents used in those products.

The Plaintiff claims that Par-Kan had knowledge of the ‘940 and ‘123 patents because these patents are continuations of U.S. Patent No. 8,221,047, which Unverferth sued Par-Kan over in a similar infringement case in 2013 and had received subpoenas and a cease-and-desist letter, identifying the patents by numbers.  It is alleged that the Defendant continues to manufacture, use, and sell products that infringe on the claims of the ‘940 and ‘123 patents, which constitutes willful infringement.

A few of the Defendant’s Accused Products are the EF275 SeedWeigh, the ER375 SeedWeigh, the 2 Pack SeedWeigh, and the 4 Pack SeedWeigh, all of which allegedly include aspects that are protected under patents ‘940 and ‘123.

Due to the alleged harm of the sales of infringed products, along with the claim of willful infringement, the Plaintiff is seeking damages according to 35 U.S.C. § 284, that would adequately compensate for lost profits from products pertaining to the ‘940 and ‘123 patents and is asking that the Defendant be ordered to stop production and sales of the products.

The case has been assigned to Judge Damon R. Leichty and Magistrate Judge Michael G. Gotsch, Sr., in the U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana, and assigned Case No. 3:23-cv-00653-DRL-MGG.

Complaint