Eaton said Delaware U.S. District Court Chief Judge Joseph Farnan has issued a permanent injunction against ArvinMeritor prohibiting further manufacture or sale of any ArvinMeritor truck transmissions that incorporate the ESS shift automation system and any colorable variations thereof. ArvinMeritor is expected to appeal the injunction.
In its lawsuit, Eaton claimed that the Rockwell ESS transmission – manufactured and sold first by Rockwell, and then by Meritor and ArvinMeritor – infringed an Eaton patent that covers a specific clutch-less shifting system used in its current Eaton Fuller AutoShift transmissions. The system allows shifting of heavy duty truck transmissions without requiring use of the vehicle’s master clutch.
Eaton added that a jury verdict in its favor was entered July 1, 1998, finding that Rockwell and Meritor “willfully infringed” upon Eaton's technology.
