Bridgestone/Firestone loses appeal in Pipco patent infringement case

WASHINGTON (April 5)—A panel of three federal judges has affirmed a district court decision to award Polymer Industrial Products Co. nearly $7.4 million in the firm´s patent infringement suit against Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. The appeal decision upholds the finding by a Cleveland federal district court jury in May 1999 that Bridgestone/Firestone violated Pipco´s patents in a turn-up bladder produced for tire-building machines. But the tire-making giant hasn´t abandoned its fight: Bridgestone/Firestone has filed a petition for an "en banc" rehearing—one that would allow the company to present its appeal to a full panel of 12 judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.