WILMINGTON, DE - The Dow Chemical Co. (Dow), Midland, MI, is being sued by paint and coatings manufacturer Akzo Nobel NV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A lawsuit filed on June 25 in Delaware Chancery Court, Wilmington, DE, contends that Dow misused confidential information from AkzoNobel to apply for coatings technology patents.

According to a report in “The Detroit News,” Dow entered into a joint development agreement in 2010 with the U.S. unit of AkzoNobel and then ended the agreement the following year. In 2012, the suit alleges, Dow said it would file the patent applications without Akzo’s permission. 

“Bloomberg” reports that the patent was for a high-temperature coatings process and that Akzo maintains Dow is using polymer extrusion technology that was patented in 2004. “Bloomberg” also cites court papers that indicate the lawsuit targets Dow’s Bluewave Process, which is used to manufacture a variety of coatings.