Ball Corp., a Broomfield-based maker of containers for Miller beer and Pepsi-Cola, sued Crown Holdings to challenge its competitor’s patents for easier-pouring aluminum-can tops.
Ball won a court ruling Jan. 31 that an earlier version of its so-called can ends, the side from which people drink, don’t infringe Crown patents. Based on a Feb. 1 filing, Ball is asking a federal court in Dayton, Ohio, for clearance of its newest cans, especially those designs for beer containers.
The dispute centers around can tops that use less metal and are marketed as being easier for beverage makers to fill and for consumers to pour. Crown, best-known for inventing the bottle cap, has said the SuperEnd cans that it began selling in 2000 reduce metal use by 10 percent. More than 300 billion SuperEnd beverage ends have been produced, Michael Dunleavy, a spokesman for Philadelphia-based Crown, said Friday.
Dunleavy said the company won’t comment on the litigation.
Ball claims Crown has embarked on an almost decade-long legal effort against packaging competitors, including claims against Anheuser-Busch InBev and London-based Rexam.
