Trex, a leading manufacturer and distributor of wood-composite decking, railing, fencing, and trim, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Federal District Court ruling that the company did not infringe on patents owned by Ron Nystrom.
“Since this case was commenced in 2001, we have been steadfast in our position that this case was completely without merit, and we aggressively defended it on that basis,” said William R. Gupp, Trex’s vice president, general counsel, and secretary in a statement. “This Court of Appeals decision provides finality on this case, which was time-consuming and costly, and we are very pleased to have prevailed.”
According court documents, the patent describes Nystrom’s invention as “a decking board which is shaped to shed water from its upper surface, and which also yields a superior product when cut from a log, reducing the amount of scrap in the outermost boards cut from a log.” Trex argued that its composite boards are not “cut from a log,” and the courts agreed.—Jean Dimeo
