Gro Master Sues Farmweld over Animal Feeders

On Monday, October 22, 2012, Gro Master, Inc. (plaintiff) recorded a suit against Farmweld, Inc. (defendant) for patent infringement in the U.S District Court of Western Washington (case no. 5:12-cv-04096).

Gro Master markets livestock equipment. Their products include Crystal Spring Feeders and Reproductive Equipment, Better Air Ventilation, DuraTuff Flooring and Phason Electronic Controls. Farmweld designs products that reduce waste, promote animal comfort and labor savings.

The patent US6923142 involved in this suit is currently assigned* to Gro Master (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database). The patent entitled Animal Feeder with Adjustment of a Feed Discharge Opening was issued on August 02, 2005 and expires[†] on December 08, 2023.

According to the complaint, the defendant’s accused animal feeder products infringe the patent US6923142. An animal feeder includes a hopper above a shelf onto which feed can fall to be taken by the animal or dropped into a trough below the shelf. The height of the shelf is adjustable to change the width of the opening through which the feed passes to control feed rate.

The plaintiff in the past had filed 9 cases of which 2 are pending. If you are interested in knowing more about the cases, please contact us.

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* Maxval offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of interest are recorded.

[†] Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.