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THE HONORABLE __________________

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE RAUTE CORPORATION, a Finnish corporation, vs. Plaintiff, Case No. _______________ COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

VENEER TECHNOLOGY, INC., dba VENTEK, INC., an Oregon corporation, Defendant. I.

NATURE OF THIS LAWSUIT

Plaintiff Raute Corporation (Raute) has designed, manufactured and sold

equipment used to make wood veneer for many years. One of its innovative products is a machine that sorts and selects randomly-sized pieces of veneer according to certain desired characteristics. Rautes sorting apparatus, known as a Raute Selector, is covered by patents worldwide, including U.S. Patent No. 5,573,121. 2. Defendant Veneer Technology, Inc., dba Ventek, Inc. (Ventek) makes

optical scanners that can be used in the veneer production line, but has never made random selector equipment. For several years, Ventek has had detailed access to Rautes patented Raute Selector technology gained during meetings with clients. Raute very recently discovered that Ventek has used this knowledge to make and offer for sale its own random sorting apparatus. Raute is informed and believes that Ventek has sold at least one of these COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 1
PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900

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expensive machines to a U.S. customer, and that it is planning to deliver another machine early next month (January 2012). 3. Venteks making, selling, using, selling and/or offering for sale its random

sorting machine violates the patent laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. 271, 281, 283285. Venteks infringement enables Ventek to establish and grow relationships with Rautes clients and take Rautes market share on these products and others. Because Ventek has never sold random sorters before, it has been and will be able to use its infringing machinery to make inroads to Rautes clients that it could have never made without the benefit of Rautes technology. Raute asks this Court to preliminarily and permanently enjoin Ventek from leveraging Rautes patented inventions to gain market share, and to award Raute damages caused by Venteks infringement. II. 4. THE PARTIES

Plaintiff Raute is a Finnish corporation having a principal place of business in

Finland. Rautes wholly owned subsidiaries Raute Canada Ltd. and Raute USA, Inc., sell products and provide services in the U.S. and throughout North America. 5. Defendant Veneer Techology, Inc., dba Ventek, Inc. is an Oregon corporation

with a physical location in Eugene, Oregon. III. 6. 7. and 1338. 8. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Ventek because, on information and JURISDICTION AND VENUE

This action arises under the United States patent laws, 35 U.S.C. 271 et seq. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1331

belief: Ventek has continuous and systematic contacts with the State of Washington and this forum, including with Weyerhaeuser Company in Federal Way, Washington. Such contacts include regular visits to the Puget Sound area by agents of Ventek for the purposes of doing business in this forum. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 2
PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900

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9.

Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. 1391(b), 1391(c), and/or

1400(b) because Ventek is a corporation that resides in this district. IV. 10. FACTS COMMON TO ALL CLAIMS

Raute is one of the worlds leading providers of products and services to

wood processers, particularly manufacturers of veneer, plywood, and laminated veneer lumber. Raute has gained its market share by inventing machines that allow wood processers to produce higher quality products at lower cost. These innovative machines are essential for manufacturers to compete in the highly competitive wood products market. Raute is committed to protecting its innovations and holds many patents in the wood processing field. 11. Raute owns U.S. Patent No. 5,573,121 (the 121 Patent), entitled VENEER

SORTING APPARATUS, issued November 12, 1996 (Exhibit A). All maintenance fees have been paid. The 121 Patent is generally directed to a veneer sorting apparatus for sorting a moving stream of arbitrarily-ordered, full-width, random-width, fishtail and trash veneer pieces in response to a signal representative of a characteristic such as width. Among other things, this technology enables automated sorting of veneer pieces that formerly required human intervention. A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the invention is shown below:

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 3

PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1

SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900

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12.

Ventek has primarily been known for making optical scanners that are used in

the veneer process line. Until very recently, Ventek has not made or sold random selector equipment. 13. Ventek knows about Rautes products and patents because over the years,

Ventek has provided scanners to Rautes clients, and has been involved in meetings where the Raute Selector apparatus has been discussed. For example, in or about May 2007, Raute representatives met with Georgia Pacific in its facility in Taylorsville, Mississippi, to discuss details of a proposed installation of a Raute Selector. Venteks president Rodger Van Voorhees and other Ventek personnel attended the meeting to discuss how the Raute Selector would interface with Venteks clipper scanner. At this meeting, the parties discussed the technical details of Rautes Random Selector, and reviewed Raute documentation that specifically referred to the patented Selector. 14. Although Raute closely monitors the wood processing industry, it had never

heard of or seen any Ventek selector product until two months ago. On October 22-25, 2011, Raute participated in the American Panel Association Information Fair tradeshow at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. 15. At the APA trade show, Ventek promoted its new Green Random Multi-Point

Diverter System (Ventek Diverter) in a booth that contained multiple detailed photographs and drawings of the apparatus. When Raute representatives visited the Ventek booth, they were surprised to notice the marked similarities between the Ventek Diverter and the Raute Selector claimed in the 121 Patent. Raute took several photographs at the trade show, which showed in detail the construction of the Ventek Diverter. 16. After comparing the Ventek Diverter to the claims of the 121 Patent, counsel

for Raute informed Ventek that its product infringed the 121 Patent in a letter dated November 8, 2011. Venteks counsel responded with a cursory letter denying infringement, but giving no details or explanation for its conclusion. COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 4
PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900

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V.

VENTEK INFRINGES THE 121 PATENT

On information and belief: Ventek has been and is directly infringing at least

claims 1 and 8 of the 121 Patent under 35 U.S.C. 271(a) by making, using, selling and/or offering for sale the Ventek Diverter. Ventek has sold and installed at least one Ventek Diverter to Martco Limited Partnership in Chopin, Louisiana, on or around November 2011. Ventek has also sold or offered to sell another Ventek Diverter to Timber Products in Yreka, California. Raute understands that this machine has not yet been installed but is expected to be installed in January. 18. Each sale of an infringing Ventek Diverter causes immediate and irreparable

harm to Raute. The Random Selectors are expensive machines with a long useful life, selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The market for these machines and other veneer processing equipment is limited to a small number of wood veneer producers. Raute has spent years developing relationships with these producers by providing a variety of innovative machines used for making wood veneer as well as providing ongoing service and advice. Although Raute sells various pieces of equipment on a piece-by-piece basis, Raute is also the only manufacturer that provides an entire veneer processing line as a package. 19. Ventek has not previously been a serious competitor to Raute, because Ventek

has focused its product line on discrete component parts such as an optical scanner, rather than larger machines or entire production lines. But it is clear that Ventek now seeks to become a player in this industry by expanding its product lines to capture a larger share of the market, using Rautes patented technology. 20. Not many Random Selector/Diverter machines are sold in a year. Each new

sale of Venteks Diverter allows Ventek to put a large piece of equipment in a customers factory, which requires constant attention and service. This gives Ventek many opportunities to develop the relationship with the customer, and to market additional products and services. Ventek is thus using Rautes patented technology to establish a beachhead with Rautes COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 5
PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900

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customers, gaining opportunities it would not otherwise have. 21. Any further sales or offers for sale of infringing Ventek Diverters will cause

imminent and irreparable harm to Raute. It will be extremely difficult to fully compensate Raute for this harm by money damages, because the value of customer relationships and market share in this industry is not readily quantified. Venteks infringement of the 121 Patent has injured and will continue to injure Raute unless and until the Court preliminarily enjoins further infringement of the 121 Patent during the pendency of this case. VI. JURY DEMAND

Raute requests a trial by jury of all issues so triable. VII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Raute asks this Court to enter judgment against Ventek granting the following relief: A. B. A judgment declaring that Ventek has infringed the 121 Patent; A judgment, order, or award of damages adequate to compensate Raute for

Venteks infringement of the 121 Patent, in no event less than a reasonable royalty, together with prejudgment interest from the date infringement of the 121 Patent began; C. A preliminary injunction prohibiting Ventek and its subsidiaries, affiliates,

parents, successors, assigns, officers, employees, attorneys, agents, and all other persons acting with Ventek or on its behalf from making, using, selling, or offering to sell the Ventek Diverters; D. An accounting to determine information relevant to establishing the extent of

Venteks infringement and amount of Rautes damages; E. An award of costs and attorneys fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 285, to the

extent the Court finds this case to be exceptional; F. An order trebling the damage award under 35 U.S.C. 284, together with

prejudgment interest; and COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 6

PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1
SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900

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G.

Such other and further relief as this Court may deem proper and just.

Dated this 23rd day of December, 2011. SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C.

By: s/ Johnathan E. Mansfield Johnathan E. Mansfield, WSBA#27779 jmansfield@schwabe.com Devon Zastrow Newman, WSBA#36462 dnewman@schwabe.com Facsimile: 503.796.2900 Trial Attorney: Johnathan E. Mansfield Attorneys for Raute Corporation

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - 7

PDX/115698/149381/JEM/8633380.1

SCHWABE, WILLIAMSON & WYATT, P.C. Attorneys at Law Pacwest Center 1211 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1900 Portland, OR 97204 Telephone 503.222.9981 Fax 503.796.2900