Bridgeport pays Arlington additional $1.13 million in patent dispute

Arlington Industries, Scranton, Pa., says Bridgeport Fittings has paid Arlington an additional $1.13 million in supplemental damages for sales of its infringing Whipper-Snap products from 2010 through 2011.

Bridgeport was previously ordered to pay Arlington $3.62 million after a unanimous jury found that 30 types of Bridgeport’s Whipper-Snap products infringed Arlington’s patent covering its SNAP-TITE® products. Bridgeport also agreed to pay Arlington its lost profits for an earlier version of infringing snap-in connectors as part of a settlement. To date, Bridgeport has paid Arlington nearly $5.1 million for its infringement of the same patent.

A press release announcing the decision said that last September the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the jury verdict, the third time a court of appeals has ruled for Arlington against Bridgeport. This past March, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania found Bridgeport in contempt of an injunction that prevented Bridgeport from infringing a Arlington’s patent covering its innovative SNAP²IT® products. Bridgeport’s 38ASP and 38SP were immediately ordered off the market until 2018.Bridgeport was also ordered to pay Arlington’s lost profits and attorneys fees as a sanction for its contempt.