07/11/11 - Important Notice to all Clients & Visitors

Regarding:  28mm PCO Closures for Soft Drinks & Mineral Water

At the beginning of 2011, our clients may have noticed the mysterious disappearance of the QPet soft drink/water bottle closure from the market. This is because QPet was sued for infringement of a patent and we decided to withdraw the closure from the market while QPet defended its integrity against a claim of infringement which we thought was totally unjustifiable.

In early January 2011, QPet received a summons claiming that our soft drink closure infringed SA patent no. 2005/10339 in the name of Raoul Eugenio Fontana. This came as something of a surprise to us, since we had undertaken proper due diligence through the supplier of the tool for the manufacture of the closures, among others. When it proved impossible to settle the matter amicably, QPet was left with no alternative but to defend itself in court and to attack the validity of the patent. With the assistance of our patent attorneys, PFT Burger Attorneys|patent|trade mark attorneys, we located documentation proving that the patent is invalid – the patent is basically an attempt to patent pre-existing cosure technology. This evidence has proved conclusive and the Fontana patent has now been revoked.

QPet regrets the insinuations of unethical conduct that have inevitably arisen around this unfortunate court case and we are pleased to announce, however, that we are once again able to offer the soft drink closure to our clients and customers.

Please feel free to contact us should you require samples or pricing.

Yours faithfully

QPET Management