Chicago-area construction material suppliers that hold patents for a curtain wall system used in high-rise construction projects are suing a rival, claiming it created a knock-off of the system based on a former employee’s knowledge and put the system to use on construction projects.

三家拥有共同所有权的公司，Talon Wall Holdings LLC，Entekk Group Ltd.和Chicago Heights Glass Inc.，于12月在芝加哥的联邦法院提起诉讼。

该诉讼称，芝加哥高地玻璃业务发展前副总裁乔尔·J·菲尔普斯（Joel J.他被诉讼中的被告Reflection Wall＆Window雇用。

它没有回应置评请求。

“Phelps’ unique knowledge of Talon Wall’s most confidential information—in particular, the effectiveness of the Talon Wall and certain non-public trade system improvements to the Talon Wall System—was one of the primary reasons that Phelps was hired by Reflection Window & Wall," said the lawsuit.

Talon Wall Holdings owns all the patents for its system, which the诉讼州是由芝加哥高地玻璃总裁库尔特·莱万（Kurt Levan）发明的。根据新闻稿，它将预制的玻璃和铝板连接到建筑物的地板板上。

原告还声称，菲尔普斯没有将材料返回芝加哥高地玻璃，他有义务根据分离协议返回。

The curtain wall system developed by Reflection Window & Wall, called the U8000 and UWALL, are knock-offs that infringe on several patents held by Talon Wall, according to the court complaint.

The lawsuit describes the Talon Wall System as an “engineered, unitized and factory-glazed curtain wall system.”

它指出，外部铝和玻璃壁系统可容纳所有三个轴的复杂几何形状，并且更简单地制造和安装。除其他好处外，该公司声称，该系统不需要在安装位置上安装到地板板上的布局或预先设置单位锚。

In addition to Phelps and Reflection Window & Wall, the lawsuit names several contractors that have allegedly used the U8000 or UWALL in their projects as defendants.

该诉讼引用了RWW据称未来同意提供其系统的未指定实体数量。

根据原告，建造用于商业媒介和高层建筑物的外立面墙的合同通常价值500万至5000万美元。