In 1997, when Pall Corp. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against what’s now a unit of The 3M Co., neither side could have expected that the case would still be kicking around two decades later. But after churning through six law firms, seven judges, and more than 17 years of litigation, the case is still alive—and now it may finally be headed to trial.
In a decision issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Uniondale, New York, ruled that 3M Purification Inc. can’t escape Pall’s infringement claims, which relate to a now-expired patent for water filtration and purification technology.
