Vancouver’s Perfect Co. sues Irish competitor

Perfect Co., a maker of smart kitchen products, is suing a competitor for patent infringement of its measuring technology.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Washington, the Vancouver company alleges that Adaptics Limited has been making and marketing a digital scale and smartphone app called Drop.

According to Perfect Co., Drop violates its patent for a system where a digital scales communicates with computing devices, such as a smartphone. The technology is used to precisely measure ingredients and track recipes.

Perfect Co. is seeking damages and a halt to Drop’s production. CEO Michael Wallace said his company had a “responsibility to its investors and customers” to file the suit.

“They launched into the market a year after we were already in the market,” he said in a phone interview. “From our point of view, it was clear they were copying what we were doing.”