Milliken & Co. to take legal action

Milliken & Company today announced it has filed several lawsuits to protect the intellectual property of some of its products.

The company believes the IP of its Millad clarifying agents has been infringed through the sale of competitive 3,4 DMDBS products.

Milliken will take action against several companies, seeking monetary damages and other appropriate compensation from the suppliers of these products.

“Our customers need to be aware of this IP infringement,” said Wim Van de Velde, Milliken & Company’s global Millad product line manager.

Van de Velde added: “We believe our customers respect the intellectual property rights of others just as Milliken does, and we are confident they do not wish to use products that have engaged in patent infringement.”

“Our actions reflect Milliken’s corporate policy to vigorously protect and defend the intellectual property underlying its products,” he concluded.

The company owns a variety of IP around its Millad products, involving several around 3,4- DMDBS in a number of end-use applications, in blend solutions and the aesthetic enhancement package in clarifiers and nucleators.

Milliken claims to have invented sorbitol-based clarifying agents and has continued with the development of Millad NX 8000, a nonitol-based agent. It is said to facilitate clarity in polypropylene, potentially allowing it to be as clear as glass-like polymers while maintaining its own properties.

This, Milliken assures, results in a lower carbon footprint and a more sustainable solution.