In the latest twist to the case, a California court has moved Quad Tech's initial claim of infringement and decided that an additional more expansive allegation of patent infringement back to a court in Pennsylvania where the case was initially filed.

Quad Tech has had some success against QIPC in a similar claim in Germany in 2008 where it won an injunction against the company preventing it from selling its markless register control MRC system.

However, QIPC said it is "satisfied with the favourable rulings it has received in the United States courts and looks forward to complete vindication and victory. In the opinion of Q.I. Press Controls, the litigation brought by Quad/Tech is of no merit and is an affront to the innovative solutions developed by QIPC."

Quad Tech claims that QIPC products infringe its US patent 5,412,577, with the suggestion that the IP was brought through former employees that founded QIPC.

Quad Tech produces press control technology and sells its automated auxiliary control systems to the web offset newspaper and commercial, packaging and publication gravure markets. QIPC supplies closed-loop colour and register control equipment for web offset printing presses.

Quad Tech could not be reached for comment.