Illinois Tool Works sues Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore

Illinois Tool Works Inc., the maker of Duo-Fast nail guns and Wilsonart flooring, sued Sherwin-Williams Co. and Warren Buffett's Benjamin Moore & Co. over their sale of colored epoxies used to coat floors.

Sherwin-Williams Co., the biggest U.S. paint retailer, and Benjamin Moore, a unit of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., are selling products that infringe a patent for ways to custom-tint epoxies, Illinois Tool Works said in a complaint filed Dec. 29 in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin.

The patent is for a way to make epoxies, used to coat industrial flooring, that can be tinted "in a rainbow of colors," much like the hue and shade of regular paint can be adjusted in a store. Typically, epoxies have to be individually colored because of their chemical formulas, according to the patent.

The companies are selling epoxy floor coatings that use the invention and "at no time have Benjamin Moore or Sherwin- Williams been licensed" under the patent, according to the complaint.

Illinois Tool Works, based in Glenview, is seeking a court order that would block use of its patented invention by the other two companies, and cash compensation.

"Having just received the complaint, we have no comment at this time but will file a response with the court at the appropriate time," said Mike Conway, spokesman for Cleveland- based Sherwin-Williams.

Benjamin Moore spokeswoman Eileen McComb said the Montvale, New Jersey-based company hasn't been served with the complaint and has no comment.

The case is Illinois Tools Works Inc. v. Benjamin Moore & Co., 08cv756, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (Madison).