WD Opens Up Lab-Grown Patents to Distributors

RAPAPORT… WD Lab Grown Diamonds has entered into patent sublicensing agreements with two synthetics companies, enabling them to distribute chemical vapor deposition (CVD) stones in North America and beyond.

The deals with Altr and Altr (India), as well as with Evolution Diamond, relate to intellectual property belonging to the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the science organization behind WD’s CVD technology, the company said Thursday. These include a patent for diamond growth using microwave plasma, which can create an especially pure crystal, and another for a High Pressure-High Temperature annealing process to improve a stone’s appearance.

Altr was one of six companies WD sued in January for alleged patent infringement. WD did not say how the sublicensing agreements affected the litigation.

The agreements are “the first of their kind in the industry,” WD asserted. They allow Altr and Evolution to sell CVD goods grown by WD or other approved manufacturers in the US, Canada, Mexico and other jurisdictions where the patents are in force.

“We are pleased to bring these global partners and leaders in as the first sublicensees of WD’s groundbreaking technology,” said WD CEO Sue Rechner.