Glaverbel v PPG Industries, Inc

Glaverbel, the applicant, sought to restrain PPG Industries, Inc, the respondent, from infringing its Australian Patent No 570,000. The patent related to a method for producing a coated glass product, specifically a low-emissivity glass. Glaverbel alleged that PPG's manufacturing process for its "Solarban 70XL" glass product infringed its patent.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether PPG's Solarban 70XL product was manufactured by a process that fell within the scope of Glaverbel's patent claims. This involved a detailed construction of the patent claims and a comparison of the asserted infringing process with the patented method. The court was required to determine if the steps and materials used by PPG were equivalent to those described and claimed in Glaverbel's patent, even if not identical.

The court's reasoning focused on the interpretation of the patent claims, particularly the phrase "a layer of tin oxide". It found that Glaverbel's patent claimed a process involving the deposition of a tin oxide layer, which was then subjected to a further process to create the low-emissivity coating. The court concluded that PPG's process, while involving tin, did not involve the deposition of a tin oxide layer in the manner described and claimed by Glaverbel. Instead, PPG's process involved the deposition of a layer of tin, which was subsequently oxidised. Therefore, the court found that PPG's process did not infringe Glaverbel's patent.

The application for an injunction was dismissed.