Federal Court Upholds Validity of Stan’s NoTubes Patent
Stan Koziatek, co-founder of Stan.s NoTubes, working on one of his company's wheels.
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.”
Technology outlined in U.S. Patent Number 7,334,846 is incorporated in Stan's NoTubes innovative carbon wheels and rims. Credit: Stan's NoTubes
The design outlined in U.S.Patent Number 7,334,846 applies to Stan's NoTubes ZTR family of wheels and rims. Credit: Stan's NoTubes
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).
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I guess my point is that if there's good MTB technology out there, I hope lots of companies will adopt it, and not be deterred by the risk of a patent infringement suit.
Let's remember some of the dumb junk Specialized have done in the past:
-Attacked a small Portland bike company for using the word "stump:" in their bike name.
-Forced a small Portland wheelbuilder to change their name for using the word "Epic:"
-Tried to sue Volagi Cycles. To be fair, they did win ...a lump sum of ONE DOLLAR in damages hahaha.
-Forced a war veteran to change the name of his bike shop Cafe Roubaix because Specialized think they own the name of that small town in France.
Specialized don't seem to realise (or care) what this stuff does to their image. They are creating gaps for other companies to grab customers.
While I actually agree with you on their image but at the risk of sounding like an apologist, you're giving half the story on a few of those cases:
-Attacked a small Portland bike company for using the word "stump:" in their bike name.
The company had a cross bike called the Stumptown, which they felt was too close to Stumpjumper. Both agreed to change the name to "Stumptown OR".
- Don't know the Epic wheels one too well.
- Volagi was a company started by former employees. Actually think their bike looks a bit like a Tarmac, anyway if you ever see former employees start a competitor there's going to be bad feelings. velonews.competitor.com/2012/01/news/an-expensive-dollar-volagi-owes-specialized-1_203443
-They did NOT for a war veteran to change the name of his shop (not really sure why the fact that he was in the armed forces changes his standing as a bike shop owner). They tried to, then quickly apologized and actually were really humble about it, I thought. velonews.competitor.com/2013/12/bikes-and-tech/specializeds-sinyard-visits-cafe-roubaix-apologizes-for-trademark-controversy_311082
"Sinyard cited the counterfeit market and an aggressive outside legal team as contributing to his company’s actions, but said that he was fully responsible."
I think they need a new, slightly less aggressive legal team, as it appears they are what causes all of the hate for the company.
But they are a large company and protect their IP like all big companies. At times over zealously, which has not helped their brand reputation especially among passionate cyclists.
Their proprietary tech can be pita, especially if your in country Distributor is not good.
Overall, lately I just get the feeling their bikes are uncompetitive on price. If you look at their carbon fibre, their s-works stuff is good but way overpriced. Their non s-w stuff not so good, cheap carbon/resin, a bit heavy and soft feeling. Smart marketing, but not such value for educated Customer.
Nothing else to be said !!!
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialized_Bicycle_Components#Litigation
One thing is for sure, I will NEVER buy or support anything Specialized. I hope karma will come soon, that Specialized goes bankrupted and the owners will be in such big debts they will never be able to pay them off again. Which is exactly the same they did to plenty of innocent small business owners / rider owned companies.
In the US, either your protect/defend your IP/Trademarks, or future cases can cite that the lack of defense, which can make it difficult for you to win future challenges. (overly simplified obviously)
This case is also from 2008, has anyone actually read the documents to figure out if their current wheels are still infringing? I'd guess they changed the wheels long ago to a conforming design.
It bums me out to read all the hate for "big" companies in biking - a lot of the things that making biking a community are financed by Trek, Spesh, Giant, etc. Get rid of those guys, and you can count on a serious decline in world cup racing, live streams, video edits, and technological advancements. Buy some other brand if you want, but in the grand scheme of things, these companies do way more good than bad for biking.
I get it, without the Big S we wouldn't have a hole in our frames to hold crap, but I'd rather reward companies like Lenz, Canfield, Ibis etc.. You know, the ones that step outside the box and do something different, not wait until something catches on to come in.
@stalkinghorse patents prevent marketplace monopoly, not encourage it - if there was no patent protection for the ideas of little guys, the established giants in any market will simply take their ideas and push them out of the marketplace. Why should someone else so freely profit from the time and money you've put into developing a particular technology AND then put you out of business?
What happened with Stratos? Anyone care to elaborate, or better yet speculate?
reviews.mtbr.com/specialized-cuts-workforce-announces-restructuring
Specchy: Fuss, fuss… I think Stans like to scream at us.
Stans: Probably they means no harm.
Specchy: Patents really very short on charm.
Stans: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Specchy: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Patent Office: Enough of that.
Stans: are there rocks ahead?
Specchy: If there are, we all be dead.
Patent Office: No more rhyme
#f*ckspecialized
@AZRyder: you're right
www.mtb-mag.com/en/bikeyoke-fit-a-standard-shock-on-specialized-enduro
#f*ckspecialized
I'm the end this benefits the consumers, as it holds big conglomerates accountable for their actions. I'd rather pay a bit more for a quality product that helps out the little guy, than pay a premium to the big guys for stolen technology.
~Ricky
YT seems to have figured out the correct business model, but unfortunately it hurts those working in the lbs
God if I were rich I'd help that town sue Specialized until Mike was living in a cardboard box.
the name thing with cafe roubaix is ridiculous
The producers of the show Big Bang Theory are facing a lawsuit right now over the song Soft kitty... which they took from a book of children's nursery rhymes first published in the 1930s. Problem is, the song's author only granted publishing rights to the book company, she never gave up her copyright to her work, and now her daughters (who are themselves senior citizens) are suing CBS and the show over use of the song. And they've created a whole wack of merchandising around it too.
NO! specialized better be using STAN's Wheels for all of their product for-ever.. XD