After a court fight that began nearly 8 years ago, Stan’s Notubes has prevailed in a patent infringement case over Specialized Bicycle Components. At issue was Stan’s Notubes patent ‘846 and whether Specialized products infringed on the Stan’s Notubes design.
You can read about the lawsuit and the patents at issue in the press release from Stan’s Notubes, below.
Press release
For immediate publication
Federal court upholds validity of Stan’s NoTubes patent
Decision confirms protection for patented rim design
BIG FLATS, NY (February 8, 2016) – Stan’s NoTubes, the New York-based manufacturer of innovative rims, wheels and tubeless products, prevailed at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a hard-fought battle against Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc. (“Specialized”). The Federal Circuit decision upholds a previous ruling by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), which had declared Stan’s NoTubes’ U.S. Patent Number 7,334,846 to be valid.
“We are pleased to have reached a positive conclusion regarding our rim design patent. The court’s decision further strengthens our patent portfolio,” said Stan’s NoTubes co-owners Stan and Cindy Koziatek. “We look forward to continuing the advancement of tubeless wheels for all cycling applications.”
The Federal Circuit heard arguments from Stan’s NoTubes and Specialized on February 2, 2016. At oral argument, the Federal Circuit panel appeared to credit evidence showing the industry’s rapid adoption of Stan’s ZTR™ rims and praise for their patented features and suggested that this objective evidence helps demonstrate that the claims of the ’846 patent are valid. An audio recording of the argument is available at http://oralarguments.cafc.uscourts.gov/default.aspx?fl=2015-1412.mp3. On February 4, 2016, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s decision in a Rule 36 summary affirmance.
This matter began in 2008 when Specialized released rims that Stan’s NoTubes alleged to infringe the ’846 patent. Stan’s NoTubes was left with no choice but to protect its proprietary technology by suing to stop Specialized’s alleged infringement in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. A judgment was entered against Specialized in that case in 2015, with Specialized paying compensation to Stan’s NoTubes.
Stan’s NoTubes currently holds the following four U.S. patents related to the rims and wheels in its ZTR™ family of products with Bead Socket Technology:
• U.S. Patent Number 7,334,846 (http://www.google.com/patents/US7334846)
• U.S. Patent Number 8,007,053 (http://www.google.com/patents/US8007053)
• U.S. Patent Number 8,613,485 (http://www.google.com/patents/US8613485)
• U.S. Patent Number 9,162,524 (http://www.google.com/patents/US9162524).
ABOUT STAN’S NOTUBES
Stan’s NoTubes, founded and owned by Stan and Cindy Koziatek, set the industry standard for making mountain bikes tires tubeless. Using his exceptional ingenuity, Stan Koziatek devised the original NoTubes sealing system in 2001, the same system that today has become the preferred tubeless conversion system around the world.
Stan’s NoTubes currently designs, produces and sells innovative mountain bike, road and cyclocross wheels, rims and hubs as well as a range of products for tubeless conversion.
For more information, visit www.NoTubes.com.
U.S. Patent Number 7,334,846, held by Stan’s NoTubes, details a rim design for bicycle wheels. Credit: Stan’s NoTubes
