Link to .pdf of Court Ruling.
Link To .pdf of History below.
More to come but for now, here is the shot story....
At SHOT Show 2020, as usual, people came to our booth and were elated to find new and exciting products that we superior to our competition and at half the price. I had one individual say: “crap, I wish I found you earlier, I just placed an order with Really Right Stuff at twice the price!” I said: “save the money, cancel it”. And he did.
That must have been the start because later in the week I was told “Vince, RRS is so mad, they are threatening to sue you….” My response was: “for what !!!!!”. I had no idea what they could possibly be complaining about. I was completely unaware of any products we had that would conflict with theirs.
So, Friday afternoon, I went to the Really Right Stuff booth to meet with Joe (CEO) to find out what his concerns were about. As I have repeated to others many times: “fire was coming out of his eyes at me….” I said: “Joe, hold on, just tell me what your issues are and let’s work it out….”
After Joe was able to collect himself, he told me they just got a patent for a dual Arca Swiss-Picatinny clamp with a cross bar". He continued, “ya, we checked and no one had ever submitted a patent for picatinny with a cross bar”. My response was: “you can’t get a patent for that, it's as common as dirt. (I had been using this design for two years and knew it was not patentable which is why I didn’t bother to apply). The cross bar is part of the basic picatinny specification….” I said: “Joe, when we get back, I will come over to your shop, (just 2 miles away from mine in American Fork, Utah) and let’s work it out.”
Since a dual clamp system was already part of our base design, and I could tell he was hell bent on making sure we couldn’t use it, I decided to change mine instead. No need to get into a pissing match with RRS when the picatinny cross bar isn’t a very good idea in the first place. That was on Friday. On Saturday, while on my 7-hour drive back from Vegas, I completely redesigned our Arca-Pic clamp system in my mind and created our new and improved dual “F-Picatinny Clamp System” that eliminated the need for a raised cross bar. By Monday, we had a fully functional 3D CAD model ready for 3D prototyping. One week later, we were in full testing mode of our new design. And several weeks after that, we were served with a patent infringement lawsuit for our old-discontinued design…. plus a few more claims they decided to throw in while they were at it.
Fast forward 4 years to today....
In a patent infringement lawsuit, there are three possible outcomes:
- You are guilty of infringement, and you have to stop selling and/or pay damages.
- No infringement is found, and the case is closed.
- The judge may discover that the plaintiffs’ patents are actually invalid, and never should have been issued in the first place.
Well, we got it all. The judge ruled 100% in support of all our claims that the RRS patents should be ruled INVALID due to the existence of relevant “prior art” and the “obviousness” of their designs. Duhhhhh.
I say again… The Judge agreed that ALL the contended patent claims RRS tried to use against us were ruled as INVALID!!!
PS. These are the same claims RRS has used against an untold number of companies attempting to enforce these invalid patents. Here are the ones I know about: Amazon, B&H Photo, Leofoto, Desmond Photographic, FLM Canada, ... the list goes on...
What’s next? …… stay tuned.
6/4/24
PRESS RELEASE:
Field Optics Research, Inc. Prevails Against Really Right Stuff: Total Victory in Patent Infringement Lawsuit
Court Rules Really Right Stuff Patents are Obvious and Invalid
American Fork, UT— June 7, 2024 — After four years of protracted litigation from Really Right Stuff, LLC (RRS), Field Optics Research, Inc (FORI) announces that on May 31, 2024, the U.S. District Court ruled, via Summary Judgement, that based on “obviousness” and “prior art”, ALL of the RRS patent claims are ruled: “invalid”. Case No. 2:20-cv-00345-DBB-DBP
On June 2, 2020, (“RRS”) filed four patent infringement lawsuits in the U.S. District Court and asserted that various FORI products infringed 30 claims of three RRS’s patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,172 (“QUICK-RELEASE CLAMP FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT”), U.S. Pat. No.10,612,718 (“DUAL CLAMPING DEVICE”); and U.S. Pat. No. 10,585,337 (“PANORAMIC CAMERA MOUNT”).
During the four-year course of litigation, FORI continuously advised RRS regarding the existence of prior art and the obviousness of the basic engineering design principles used in their patent claims. However, RRS persisted in its intellectual property challenge and pressed on in a long, protracted, and ill-advised legal battle, seemingly for the purpose of only to intimidate and bully legitimate competition with unwarranted, baseless, and frivolous lawsuits.
Not only did the Court rule that RRS patent claims were faulty and invalid, but stated specifically that: “No reasonable jury could conclude otherwise” and that “no expert testimony” was necessary to make this decision.
“Field Optics respects all valid intellectual property claims;” said Vince Warner, CEO of FORI, “However, when someone tries to force out competition by filing frivolous lawsuits using patents that should never have been granted in the first place, we will defend ourselves to the full extent of our ability. All companies have a right to own intellectual property and deserve legal patent protection for “real” inventions. FORI likewise has a host of novel and innovative patented inventions, but today’s decision reaffirms for all, that no company has the right to file harassing infringement lawsuits against other companies knowing full well they are indefensible in a court of law.”
Positive Industry Impact
“This is a total victory for Field Optics, and a win on behalf of all in the industry,” said Geoffrey Dobbin, FORI’s Attorney. “Eliminating wrongfully issued patents from the playing field levels it for appropriate competition and free market enterprise and promotes continued innovation and development. FORI is not alone, as a host of other companies have suffered at the hands of RRS’ enforcement of their objectively weak patent lawsuits. Congratulations to Field Optics and Vince Warner for finally taking a stand.”
Aftermath
Given the nature of the Summary Judgment decision, the Court found the invalidity of the patents at issue in an extraordinarily convincing manner. And having given RRS numerous opportunities, and with more than adequate time to cease its aggressive and objectively unenforceable litigation in a reasonable manner, FORI is now petitioning to have this case certified as extraordinary by the Court and is seeking reasonable attorney’s fees to recover what FORI should never have had to expend defending against what were plainly “obvious” and “invalid” patent claims.
In memory of: Our hero and major contributor in our valiant defense, the late Howard Sheerin, sadly passed away in November 2023 just after completing his mission with us. We are so sad that we cannot celebrate our victory together in defeating our Goliath.
Field Optics Research, Inc. 767 S. Auto Mall Dr #16. American Fork, UT 84003
Company names and products mentioned may have respective trademarks.
For More Information
PR Contact: Vincent Warner, CEO
Phone: 801-420-0282
Email: vince@fieldopticsresearch.com
Website: www.fieldopticsreserch.com
About Field Optics Research, Inc.
We are an American manufacturer of new & innovative outdoor, hunting, shooting, military, law enforcement, wildlife & outdoor photography industry. We specialize in the creation of professional tripods, weapon mount systems, and sport optics accessories.
About Dobbin IP Law, P.C.,
Geoffrey Dobbin has been helping inventors protect their inventions and aided his clients in defending against unwarranted infringement laws suits for over 25 years. As a small firm, Dobbin IP Law specializes in helping “the little guy”, even against the Goliath’s of industry.