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ArvinMeritor, ZF, win patent suit; Eaton may appeal

ArvinMeritor Inc. and former partner ZF Friedrichshafen AG have won a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by Eaton Corp. over the ZF FreedomLine transmission used in heavy- duty trucks, news sources report.

A federal jury in Detroit invalidated two patents owned by Eaton for ways to improve the responsiveness in a clutch and for semi-automatic control of a transmission in heavy trucks. Eaton had claimed that the FreedomLine transmissions used the technology without permission and wanted cash compensation.

Eaton filed the complaint in 2003 against ZF Meritor, a now-defunct venture between ZF and ArvinMeritor. ArvinMeritor has an agreement to market the transmissions in the U.S. made by ZF. 

“This suit was an attempt by Eaton to limit the choice that truck manufacturers offer to end-users,'' said Rolf Lutz, group executive for Friedrichshafen, Germany-based ZF's commercial vehicle and special Technology division, Bloomberg news service reported.

ArvinMeritor’s Chairman, CEO and President Chip McClure, said in a news release that, “We are elated that the jury recognized Eaton’s wrongful conduct in violation of antitrust laws that harmed competition in the markets for heavy-duty truck transmissions, forced us to exit the NAFTA line-haul transmission business and led to the demise of our joint venture with ZF Industries.

“In bringing this lawsuit forward, we sought to protect our loyal customers who have relied on our superior products and services. We knew our customers deserved the right to choose the transmissions they specify and that a significant number of those customers would have preferred ZF Meritor transmissions had they been available without restriction.”

He said, “Due to the exclusionary tactics employed by our competitor, we believe our products became difficult and ultimately impossible for our customers to choose as alternatives to Eaton's offerings.  We are grateful to the jury members for their time and for making the right decision to create fair competition and fair play in our marketplace.”

“Today’s ruling completes the initial phase of the trial in which the jury was asked to determine whether or not Eaton was liable for the alleged violations,” McClure continued.  “Given the jury’s finding that Eaton did engage in anticompetitive conduct, the parties will now proceed to the Damages phase of the legal process through a separate trial.”

Eaton spokeswoman Kelly Jasko said the company is ``considering its options,'' including seeking a review by an appeals court in Washington that specializes in patent law, according to Bloomberg accounts.

Eaton's truck group had $2.1 billion sales from powertrain systems and components for commercial vehicles. The company doesn't break out transmission sales, Jasko said.

The jury decision was on Oct. 3 and Thursday U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh closed the case in ArvinMeritor's favor.

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