May 11, 2004 11:43 AM, from staff and wire reports

ArvinMeritor Inc announced that the United States Patent Board of Appeals and Patent Interferences has issued judgment in ArvinMeritor’s favor against Eaton Corp on all claims in two related transmission patent interferences.

An interference is a court-like proceeding in the Patent Office to determine who was first to make an invention. Under US law, the first to invent is deemed the owner of the patent. The decision was rendered April 29, 2004.

“This is another significant legal victory for ArvinMeritor and our second successful defense against Eaton’s legal assaults on our transmission business,” said Tom Gosnell, president of ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Systems business group.

The interferences involved an ArvinMeritor US patent on torque prediction technology.