U.S. Water Obtains Unanimous Jury Verdict that Novozymes Infringed U.S. Water Patents Relating to its pHytOUT® Technology

Jury Also Finds that U.S. Water’s Patents are Valid

ST. MICHAEL, Minn.--()--U.S. Water announces that last week a federal jury in the Western District of Wisconsin delivered a unanimous verdict in favor of U.S. Water in its lawsuit against Novozymes A/S and Novozymes North America, Inc. (“Novozymes”). The jury found that Novozymes’s sale of Phytaflow® to its customers caused infringement of the U.S. Water patents asserted in that case, U.S. Patent Nos. 8,415,137 and 8,609,399, relating to U.S. Water’s pHytOUT® deposit control technology and that these patents are valid. The jury awarded U.S. Water $7.58 million in past damages for Novozymes’s infringement.

We are grateful to the jury for their hard work and pleased that they reached precisely the right verdict. This verdict is confirmation of our long-held belief that the pHytOUT® technology is a true innovation in the fuel ethanol industry,” said LaMarr Barnes, CEO of U.S. Water, on behalf of the company and the two inventors on the U.S. Water patents, Roy Johnson and Paul Young.

A common problem for ethanol producers is the formation of scale forming deposits in ethanol processing equipment. These deposits impede heat transfer and flow and compromise the proper operation of mechanical devices used in ethanol processing. U.S. Water’s pHytOUT® technology was designed to control mineral deposit scaling, reduce back-end fouling and greatly reduce sulfuric acid use, among other benefits. In 2013, the United States Patent Office issued U.S. Patent Nos. 8,415,137 and 8,609,399.

U.S. Water sued Novozymes for infringement of its patents in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging that Novozymes provides a phytase product known as Phytaflow® to its ethanol plant customers and instructs the plants to use the enzyme in an infringing manner. The jury determined that Novozymes has infringed the ’137 and ’399 patents and has affirmed that the U.S. Water patents are valid.

For more information, contact Todd Emslander, VP Process Technologies at temslander@uswaterservices.com or Sarah Haug, Director of Marketing Communications at sarah.haug@uswaterservices.com.

U.S. Water, an ALLETE company (NYSE: ALE), is an integrated industrial water treatment company headquartered in St. Michael, Minnesota. U.S. Water provides integrated water solutions for industry by combining chemical, equipment, engineering and service to optimize system performance, reduce water and energy usage, and improve efficiency.

Contacts

U.S. Water Services, Inc.
Sarah Haug, 763-497-1293
sarah.haug@uswaterservices.com
www.uswaterservices.com

Release Summary

U.S. Water announces that a federal jury delivered a unanimous verdict in favor of U.S. Water in its lawsuit.

Contacts

U.S. Water Services, Inc.
Sarah Haug, 763-497-1293
sarah.haug@uswaterservices.com
www.uswaterservices.com