WILTON, UK — The Lubrizol Corporation and Imperial Chemical Industries PLC (ICI) have announced that they have concluded an agreement giving each company freedom to operate worldwide within their respective ester refrigeration lubricant patent portfolios.

The two parties will, as part of the agreement, settle all current legal actions against the other; in particular, the patent infringement and revocation actions in Australia that commenced in 1997 have now been settled.

According to both companies, the agreement reflects the importance and regard that each gives the other’s synthetic refrigeration lubricant technology.