TROY, Mich. — ArvinMeritor says it is appealing Friday’s decision against it in the patent infringement suit brought by Eaton against ArvinMeritor on the Engine Synchro Shift (ESS) transmission system.

Judge Joseph Farnan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware rejected ArvinMeritor’s defense that Eaton’s patent had been obtained improperly, and he ruled in favor of Eaton on patent enforceability.

“We are disappointed that the District Court ruled in Eaton’s favor,” says Vernon Baker, senior vice-president and general counsel, ArvinMeritor.

“The Court’s interpretation of the patent is not correct, and we believe we proved that Eaton improperly obtained the patent on technology that had actually been developed by another company, not Eaton,” says Richard McLaren ArvinMeritor’s lawyer.

“ArvinMeritor believes the Court’s ruling is contrary to the testimony and documents from Eaton’s own files showing that Eaton had obtained the invention through inequitable conduct,” says M. Lee Murrah, another lawyer for ArvinMeritor.

“We will appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as soon as all proceedings are complete in the District Court.”