Best licenses glove patent to Microflex

By Liz White, ERJ staff

Menlo, Georgia-Best Manufacturing Co. a leading industrial and medical glove maker, has signed a licensing agreement covering its patent for thin disposable nitrile gloves with Microflex Corp. of Reno, Nevada.

Under this agreement, Microflex recognises the validity of patents by Best and its parent Tillotson Corp. for these products and gains access to the patented technology, said a Best statement. This will allow Microflex to make low-modulus nitrile gloves that conform to the user's hands.

Tillotson has been quick to act in the courts to prevent other glove makers from contravening its patents for the nitrile gloves. "We have a duty to our customers, our employees and our industry to make sure we protect our intellectual capital and investments," commented Bill Alico, president & ceo of Tillotson, in the Best statement.

In May, Best said, it settled disputes with Ammex Corp. of Tukwila, Washington, and earlier settled several cases in 2004, with domestic-based companies Medline Industries and Shen Wei USA, plus several Chinese-based manufacturers.

Since its original settlement with Safeskin Corp. back in November 1999, Best continues to aggressively defend its patent and intellectual property rights,” the statement stressed.

Best says the relevant patent concerns its low-modulus formulation that makes its disposable nitrile glove uniquely comfortable and fatigue-reducing, and which is at the heart of its flagship brand N-Dex glove line.”