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During the 1970's and through May 1983, Sea-Land licensed the
exclusive rights to manufacture, market, and sell products covered
by the Sea Bulk patents to Tri-Wall Containers (Tri-Wall). The
terms of the license agreement provided that Tri-Wall would pay
royalties to Sea-Land at an initial rate of 8 percent of net sales
of Sea Bulk liners for the first year of the agreement, 9 percent
for the second year, and 10 percent thereafter.
In March 1981, Raymond Stopper founded Insta-Bulk, Inc.,
(Insta-Bulk) in Houston, Texas. Insta-Bulk, like Powertex, was
engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling intermodal
container liners for use in the transportation industry. During
1982, a dispute developed between Insta-Bulk, Sea-Land, and Tri-Wall
concerning whether Insta-Bulk was manufacturing and selling liners
which infringed upon the Sea Bulk patents. During 1982, Insta-Bulk
filed a request for declaratory judgment with the United States
District Court in New York alleging that the Sea Bulk patents were
invalid and unenforceable and that it was not infringing upon the
Sea Bulk patents. Sea-Land and Tri-Wall counterclaimed for damages
resulting from Insta-Bulk’s alleged disclosure of Tri-Wall’s trade
secrets and for infringement of the Sea Bulk patents by Insta-Bulk.
Sea-Land eventually became dissatisfied with Tri-Wall’s
performance and therefore terminated its license agreement during or
around May 1983. On May 5, 1983, Powertex entered into an exclusive
license agreement with Sea-Land for use of the Sea Bulk patents
(Sea-Land license agreement). The Sea-Land license agreement
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Last modified: May 25, 2011