MINNEAPOLIS -- Recovery Engineering, Inc. has announced that the Company has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Brita Products Company in Federal District Court in Minneapolis. The suit alleges that Brita's recently introduced faucet mount water filtration system infringes Recovery Engineering's United States Patent No. 5,928,504. This patent protects the company's technological innovation in faucet mount water filters of having the capability to monitor water flow and indicate filter life.
Recovery Engineering introduced its first faucet mount water filter, sold under the PUR brand name, to the consumer marketplace in 1994. The company has since continued to refine and advance its faucet mount products, which has lead to the introduction of the PUR PLUS and PUR ULTIMATE filtration systems, with enhanced filter element performance.
PUR faucet mount water filters have always incorporated the company's Automatic Safety Monitor™ Gauge, according to a company spokesman. The Automatic Safety Monitor™ Gauge monitors the amount of water that has been filtered and tells the consumer when to replace the filter. PUR faucet mount water filters currently account for more than 80% of the retail market share in this category.
"When we conceived of the PUR faucet mount water filter with the monitor gauge, we understood that the largest source of consumer dissatisfaction with water filters was not knowing when to change the filter," said Brian F. Sullivan, Chairman and CEO. "We were first in bringing this technology to the retail consumer, and our market share speaks for itself. We have been very careful to protect our inventions through a variety of means, including the patent system. This litigation is simply a means of safeguarding our intellectual property."
Recovery Engineering, Inc. is one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer drinking water systems. Sold under the PUR brand name, the company markets household, recreational, and marine drinking water products through more than 35,000 retail outlets in North America and through international distributors.
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