USB Ports Patented, Cease & desist (1 Viewer)

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Just took a read of the patent myself. The mounting of 3rd party device is considered an invention?

fuck maybe i should patent this?
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I call it the kitchenizer 12000.

It includes the expansion of power and lighting so you can use your kitchen appliances at your convenience. My patented system uses store bought trade secret powerboard, led strip light and cable clip all patently installed using magical double sided tape.

If any has done anything similar Ill be in touch shortly to collect my royalty cheques and or licensing fees.
 
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Cant remember where Ive seen or read it but unfortunately patent trolls is big business in the US. This seems to be another example of it.

There is a good documentary on youtube about it. I watched it about a year ago. A judge and some of the lawyers (related to the judge) were real shady. Most of the cases took place in a small town in TX.
 
IANAL but drunk and have come across several people in your position. Here are some take-aways I've picked up.
  • Some companies patent a lot of shit. In order to defend their patents, they have to do this or the patent is worthless
  • A patent isn't really valid until you win a court case with it. You can pay for and patent walking maliciously down a walkway if you're good enough with the paperwork
  • There are entire businesses with patent-trolls, meaning making up ridiculous patents in hope that someone pays them for it
  • Even if the patent is bogus, you still have to pay legal fees (lawyer, processing, court fees, etc) which is why big companies are successful at bullying minor competitors
Shuffle tech got sued by Ballys for bogus patents. Shuffle tech counter-sued them for frivolous patent lawsuit in an anti-trust case and won $105 million. Since it was an antitrust case they automatically get awarded 3 x the amount (i.e. $315 million). This obviously isn't the case if it's Gorilla Gaming, but you can counter-sue for frivolous patent lawsuit if it's really clear cut, which I don't belive this is.

Also note that if Gorilla Gaming owns the patent, they might have "outsourced" the patent to a company and no longer can control who the 3rd party conduct legal actions against as per their agreement.
 
There is a good documentary on youtube about it. I watched it about a year ago. A judge and some of the lawyers (related to the judge) were real shady. Most of the cases took place in a small town in TX.
Murica.

I think what I saw was this segment from John Oliver. "legally binding dibs"

 
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Tony, while I’m not a lawyer by trade, and you should definitely seek counsel’s advice on this, I had a chance to read through the utility patent in question just now. Just having been through over 30 patent infringement claims (on both sides) over the last 5 years alone, the structure of that awarded patent is rife with opportunities to challenge it.

After talking to counsel, I think your counsel should send a note suggesting how ludicrous the claim of infringement is, while you simultaneously file for an ex parte reexamination of the patent, because the method you use for the said outcome is materially different from the original patent, and that can frequently cause the USPTO to support a reexamination request.

An ex parte reexamination of an issued patent would involve only the patent owner and the USPTO.

As a third party challenger, you get to file the initial reexamination request.

There are three possible outcomes for each claim in a reexamined patent:
  1. confirmed (unchanged);
  2. canceled; or
  3. changed.
I found the following stats on the web:

USPTO statistics for 2019 show that 91% of requests for reexamination were granted, meaning that the successful requests satisfied the requirement of showing a substantial new question of patentability (SNQ).

In reexamination proceedings where the request was filed a third party (i.e., not the patent owner or the Patent Office), 79% of claims were canceled or changed. So if you are thinking of requesting reexamination of someone else’s patent, you have over 90% chance of the request being granted and, once granted, an almost 80% of seeing claims canceled or amended. So, a third party has a roughly 72% chance of success in getting patent claims canceled or changed as a result of reexamination.


You can do the above.

or you can just tell whoever sent it to fuck off. Either way is good.
 
@T_Chan all above valid. In Asia we had tables with USB ports for over a decade I believe.( Even in the casino poker rooms, next thing here are wireless charging on dining tables in restaurants...)

Nevertheless, first letter from a lawyer is always scary, no need to panic and just slowly deal with it....
 
Ya, I’m not a lawyer, but the cease and desist letter is such BS... they are trying to bully you, to get you to stop making a better product, to hurt you, their competitor. And if you choose to fight it, you will likely spend far more on attorneys and such than you’d likely make in profit from USB add ons.. so they’re counting on you just complying. But as others have said, their patent might be BS, and you might actually win in court? they might actually very much NOT want a challenge to their patent... So it’s a game of brinksmanship.. who can make the other think they’re willing to go the distance...? I know what I’d do here, but I also think the advice to get a patent IP attorney to draft a response is probably the safest path, to protect yourself And business.
 
I believe that patent is from the owner of Gorilla Gaming, @GorillaGlenn.
Agreed. Although it's reasonable to speculate that after 7 years he may no longer own the patent. Would the Google patent page show if there has been a transfer of ownership since the patent was issued?

Tony, don't you sell Gorilla Gaming products as an add-on? Seems like bad business to send a C&D letter to your vendor.
Or possibly sell a charging kit addon that the owner installs to his satisfaction in any form or fashion they please

That was my first thought but it's clearly a question for an attorney specialized on patents. But one would think selling a table with the machining done but with the hardware not installed (or sold separately) would be one way to get around it.
This is likely not to turn out very well for them within our community. Not cool.
Agreed. Personally this makes me as a consumer much less likely to do business with Gorilla Gaming without hearing their side of this. Hopefully they will chime in.
 
Agree - this is a patent troll. Here is an interesting read on a very similar situation involving audio cables. The owner of Monster Cables is universally hated in the audiophile community for 1) selling absolute shit, and 2) being a complete Jack Ass.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/

He was notorious for suing anyone who made cables and/or used the word “monster”. He tried to sue the owner of a small cable manufacturer called “Blue Jean” cables, who just happened to be a retired litigation “hired gun” attorney- lol, it’s beautiful :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:. His response to Monster and the ultimate outcome is GOLD!!

It’s a great read and was published for the entire community to read. Seriously bad press for Monster and was picked up by several print/news outlets. (You could take a page out of his book)

Suggest finding an attorney who takes personal pleasure in making trolls eat shit - lol.
 
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Just mark this up as another reason I will NEVER buy a table from anyone but you @T_Chan ...!
:tup::cautious:
This is likely not to turn out very well for them within our community. Not cool.
Agreed. Personally this makes me as a consumer much less likely to do business with Gorilla Gaming without hearing their side of this. Hopefully they will chime in.
I'd want to know some facts before I started thinking like this.
 
I agree with the sentiment that this is a patent troll. He can roll up that cease and desist then shove it. I had the same reaction you did when I received a C&D from a business on another matter. Was all hot air and went away. You’ll be fine Tony, no need to worry.
 
Tony, don't you sell Gorilla Gaming products as an add-on? Seems like bad business to send a C&D letter to your vendor.

Yes, I sell Gorilla legs, but I'm not a distributor. I purchased 26x sets of their legs for the volume discount at one point so now they are an inventory item that I use for folding tables and resell on their own.
 
I believe that patent is from the owner of Gorilla Gaming, @GorillaGlenn.

Also note that if Gorilla Gaming owns the patent, they might have "outsourced" the patent to a company and no longer can control who the 3rd party conduct legal actions against as per their agreement.

After reviewing the US patent office data with a little help from this article you can see who currently owns the patent.

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As there is nothing listed in the assignments tab, then it is probably safe to assume that the original "inventor" is still the owner of the original patent.

Since Tony has yet to name who he received to letter from, we aren't able to confirm whether or not @GorillaGlenn is the owner of the patent and or if he initiated the letter being sent out or not. Maybe he can choose to provide commentary when he next logs onto PCF, as his last activity was prior to the creation of this thread. Until then we can only speculate until more "facts" are provided.
 
Agree - this is a patent troll. Here is an interesting read on a very similar situation involving audio cables. The owner of Monster Cables is universally hated in the audiophile community for 1) selling absolute shit, and 2) being a complete Jack Ass.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/

He was notorious for suing anyone who made cables and/or used the word “monster”. He tried to sue the owner of a small cable manufacturer called “Blue Jean” cables, who just happened to be a retired litigation “hired gun” attorney- lol, it’s beautiful :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:. His response to Monster and the ultimate outcome is GOLD!!

It’s a great read and was published for the entire community to read. Seriously bad press for Monster and was picked up by several print/news outlets. (You could take a page out of his book)

Suggest finding an attorney who takes personal pleasure in making trolls eat shit - lol.
@T_Chan read this letter - it's hilarious. Four pages of a legal letter in response to a C&D request, and it reads more like a short story (with a good ending).
 
One simple fact that might be useful in invalidating these worthless utility patents, and is applicable to both the utility patents and the design patent:

There are absolutely no "USB ports" described in any of those documents. There are merely unspecified USB-type connectors bearing charging voltage. They provide no bus functionality whatsoever.

(p.s.: Neither do @T_Chan 's constitute "USB ports", which can be used in any defense. They're simply battery charging capability using USB-type connectors.)
 
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One simple fact that might be useful in invalidating these worthless utility patents, and is applicable to both the utility patents and the design patent:

There are absolutely no "USB ports" described in any of those documents. There are merely unspecified USB-type connectors bearing charging voltage. They provide no bus functionality whatsoever.
Yep, among many other weird inconsistencies. In attempting to be broad, they left a lot open to challenges. Again, I am not a lawyer by trade, nor am I providing legal advice, but I think it’s worth an ex parte reexamination request.
 
this reminds me of the simple patent by AT&T for the blinking message light on a phone and how much money they made from it.
I would definitely consult a patent lawyer, as I am sure many others have suggested.
Also is there any evidence on your behalf that you were doing this concept before 2013?
his wording might allow you other options or even completely challenge the generic description
Every engineer knows you can easily get a patent but can you defend the patent it what lawyers try to figure out
 
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