Patent Trial And Appeal Board Upholds CENTRIA's Patent

CENTRIA And ATAS International, Inc. Resolve Litigation

Moon Township, PA - CENTRIA, an industry leader in the design, development and manufacture of architectural metal wall and roof systems, and ATAS International, Inc. (ATAS) have come to terms in a confidential settlement of a lawsuit regarding CENTRIA’s U.S. Design Patent No. D527, 834, which covers architectural building panel designs in the company’s Concept Series® product line.

In response to CENTRIA’s infringement lawsuit, ATAS filed a petition for inter partes review of CENTRIA’s design patent with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), arguing that CENTRIA’s patent was invalid due to prior existing building panels. The petition was denied on all counts, effectively upholding the validity of CENTRIA’s design patent.

The PTAB also denied ATAS’s request for a rehearing. The companies have since agreed to resolve the pending infringement litigation in the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania. As part of the settlement, ATAS will cease the sale of the accused products and others within the scope of CENTRIA’s patent. The PTAB decision and subsequent settlement are the latest in CENTRIA’s ongoing efforts to protect and enforce its intellectual property rights.

“CENTRIA stands at the forefront of the building products industry, as both a leading manufacturer and product innovator,” said Rick Mowrey, Director of Business Development at CENTRIA. “We will continue to pursue those who manufacture, use, sell, offer for sale, or import products that infringe any of CENTRIA's many U.S. design patents.”

For more information on CENTRIA, call (800) 759-7474 or visit www.CENTRIA.com.

About CENTRIA

CENTRIA, a Nucor company, supplies a variety of architetural metal wall and roof systems. For more information, visit CENTRIA.com.