Royal Dutch Shell Plc  .com Rotating Header Image

Bloomberg.com: Shell Oil Must Pay $153.6 Mln Award to Union Carbide

From our archives… Another example of Shell IP theft

Bloomberg.com: Shell Oil Must Pay $153.6 Mln Award to Union Carbide

Posted 17 June 2004

June 16 (Bloomberg) — Shell Oil Co., a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Europe’s second-largest oil company, must pay Dow Chemical Co.’s Union Carbide Corp. $153.6 million in damages for infringing a patent for catalysts, a federal judge ruled.

Chief U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson in Wilmington, Delaware, added more than $40 million in interest to an original judgment of about $112 million that was imposed during a 2003 jury trial, according to court papers.

“Shell has failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence” that it shouldn’t be held liable in the case, Robinson said in entering the new judgment June 9 following post-trial motions.

Union Carbide sued Shell in 1999, saying it copied catalytic processes to make ethylene oxide, which is used in shampoo, toothpaste, polyester fibers and antifreeze. A jury in 2001 decided Shell didn’t infringe. In 2002 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the verdict and ordered a re- trial.

Shell spokesman Johan Zaayman in Houston said the company is “deeply disappointed with the decision” and plans to appeal.

Union Carbide spokesman Scot Wheeler said the company is “pleased that the court decided certain Shell catalysts infringed a Union Carbide patent” and said the company is confident it will win an appeal.

New York Shares of The Hague, Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Petroleum, which reported $120.8 billion in sales last year, rose 91 cents to $51.33 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Shares of Midland, Michigan-based Dow, the largest U.S. chemical maker, with $32.6 billion in sales last year, fell 1 cent to $39.22 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The case is Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastic Technology Corp., et. al., v. Shell Oil Company, et. al., C.A. No. 99-274- SLR.

To contact the reporter on this story:

Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware,

at [email protected].

To contact the editors responsible for this story:

Patrick Oster at

or [email protected].

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aYQx.qf_797U&refer=uk

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comment Rules

  • Please show respect to the opinions of others no matter how seemingly far-fetched.
  • Abusive, foul language, and/or divisive comments may be deleted without notice.
  • Each blog member is allowed limited comments, as displayed above the comment box.
  • Comments must be limited to the number of words displayed above the comment box.
  • Please limit one comment after any comment posted per post.