U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis on Tuesday denied 3M Company's preliminary injunction request that asked the court order that Pasadena, California-based Avery Dennison Corporation to stop selling its retroreflective sheeting products.

The motion for preliminary injunction was part of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by 3M against Avery Dennison earlier this year.

According to the suit, which was filed in June in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Avery Dennison's OmniCube T-11500 Prismatic Reflective Film products infringe on 13 patents that were issued to 3M between 1998 and 2009.

In particular, 3M claims that the OmniCube products infringe on its Diamond Grade DG3 products, which use retroreflective sheeting technology. The products are used in a variety of applications, including on road signs to enhance motorist and passenger safety.

According to court documents, 3M failed to prove that it would be “irreparably harmed” if Avery Dennison continues to sell its retroreflective sheeting products.

“Given 3M's failure to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits and that it will be irreparably harmed, the balance of harms and public interest tips in favor of Avery,” Davis said in court documents.

3M and Avery Dennison have a history of fierce competition as well as patent litigation. Avery Dennison filed patent infringement suits against 3M in 1987, 2001, and earlier this year.

A Thursday morning phone call to a 3M representative seeking comment on Davis' ruling was not immediately returned.

3M-which provides technologies for the consumer, electronics, health care, industrial, and transportation markets-is among Minnesota's five-largest public companies based on revenue, which exceeds $23 billion annually.