Leviton Manufacturing Company continues to accumulate court victories in its ongoing litigation against companies that infringe on its GFCI patent. To date, at least 10 companies have acknowledged the validity of Leviton’s U.S. and Canadian GFCI patents and admitted to infringing on them. Judgments issued in many Federal Courts throughout the country resulted in infringing companies having to pay damages to Leviton as well as a permanent injunction against these corporations, their officers, directors, and shareholders.
According to Bill Marshall, vice president of marketing and product development for Leviton Manufacturing, “though it’s not widely known, private parties can be held personally liable for participating in patent infringement, even if they’re only guiding these unlawful activities. Parties who purchase infringing devices for resale can be held as liable as if they manufactured the devices themselves. Leviton intends to prosecute all parties, as appropriate, who have participated in these activities to the full extent of the law.”