Solutia Remains Confident in Its PPD Antidegradant Intellectual Property Rights Through 2019

ST. LOUIS, July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Flexsys, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) and a leading producer of specialty chemical products for the rubber and tire industry, will continue to vigorously enforce its intellectual property rights after a ruling involving alleged infringement of its United States Base Patent held on its PPD2 technology.  This Base Patent is valid in the United States through June 2011 and in other world areas through 2012.  Flexsys' Process Patents on its PPD2 technology remain valid through 2019.

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On July 6, 2010, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio granted summary judgment for Sinorgchem Co. and Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd., dismissing Solutia's infringement claims against the two defendants.  Solutia is evaluating options for promptly appealing this decision to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.  

"While the decision was not our desired outcome for this regional case, we were prepared for this ruling and it does not affect the validity of the patent," said D. Michael Donnelly, president and general manager of Solutia's Technical Specialties division.  "We remain confident in our intellectual property rights, as the Base Patent has been upheld in other key world areas and our Process Patents remain valid through 2019."  

Flexsys' PPD2 process is the most technologically advanced and economical manufacturing process in the world for the key PPD intermediate 4-ADPA.  In March 2010, the Korean Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of a lower court decision that found key claims of Flexsys' Korean patent to be valid, defeating attempts by Sinorgchem to invalidate those claims.  This decision followed similar rulings in January of this year by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in China and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, dismissing attempts by Sinorgchem to invalidate Flexsys' PPD patents in those countries.

"Our innovative PPD2 technology was developed through a commitment to -- and significant investment in -- research and development," said Donnelly. "This technology provides substantial value for both our customers and stakeholders. As the world's leading producer of PPDs for the rubber and tire industry, we will continue to vigorously defend and enforce our patent and intellectual property rights around the world."

Solutia operates the largest 4-ADPA plant in the world, as well as PPD manufacturing operations in Antwerp, Belgium.  In addition, Solutia currently owns the largest PPD plant in North America and is the only PPD producer with manufacturing capacity in the growing South American market.  Solutia sells these PPD antidegradants under the Santoflex® brand.  

To learn more about Flexsys and its related products and capabilities, please visit our website at www.flexsys.com .

NOTE TO EDITORS: Solutia, Flexsys and Santoflex are trademarks of Solutia Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "intends," "plans," "estimates" or "anticipates," or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about the industries in which Solutia operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or achievements to be materially different from the future results or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risk and uncertainties described in Solutia's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under "Cautionary Statement About Forward Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors", and Solutia's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These reports can be accessed through the "Investors" section of Solutia's website at www.solutia.com . Solutia disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in response to new information, unforeseen events, changed circumstances or any other occurrence.

Corporate Profile

Solutia is a market-leading performance materials and specialty chemicals company. The company focuses on providing solutions for a better life through a range of products, including: Saflex® polyvinyl butyral interlayers for glass lamination and for photovoltaic module encapsulation and Vistasolar® ethylene vinyl acetate films for photovoltaic module encapsulation; LLumar®, Vista™, EnerLogic™, FormulaOne®, Gila®, V-KOOL®, Huper Optik®, IQue™, Sun-X® and Nanolux® aftermarket performance films for automotive and architectural applications; Flexvue™ advanced film component solutions for solar and electronic technologies; and technical specialties products including Crystex® insoluble sulfur, Santoflex® PPD antidegradants, Therminol® heat transfer fluids and Skydrol® aviation hydraulic fluids. Solutia's businesses are world leaders in each of their market segments. With its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, the company operates globally with approximately 3,300 employees in more than 50 worldwide locations. More information is available at www.Solutia.com .

SOURCE Solutia Inc.

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