USPTO Affirms Invalidity of Claims in '093 Patent Case

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USPTO Affirms Invalidity of Claims in '093 Patent Case

Published on: February 24th, 2010 12:01am by: igolf

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San Diego, CA (OPENPRESS) February 24, 2010 -- In an ongoing battle between major golf GPS companies, a victory appears to have come for the underdogs. U.S. Patent No. 5,364,093 has been found invalid by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The patent has been in litigation in Texas for almost three years. But, at the behest of several companies, patent attorney Manual de la Cerra petitioned the USPTO to reexamine the patent. The result was a rejection of all independent claims, issued in late 2009.

The patentee (an attorney/inventor named Huston, co-inventor with Darryl Cornish) responded to the rejection with an extensive brief. On January 14, 2010, the USPTO rejected all arguments set forth, and affirmed the invalidity of the claims.

For years the '093 patent, labeled "Golf distance measuring system and method," was viewed by leaders in the golf GPS industry as a red herring. "The idea that you can patent the use of GPS, a government owned system which is funded by U.S. taxpayers, on a golf course is ridiculous" stated Brian Verdugo, President of L1 Technologies (parent company of the iGolf brand), which led the reexamination efforts.

'093 Patent Related Litigation
The '093 patent has been at the center of a lawsuit filed on May 11, 2007 by GPS Industries against L1 Technologies and other golf-related GPS technology companies claiming infringement of the patent. Although the original case was dismissed in July of 2009, another case was filed, and the dismissal of the earlier case was appealed. Both cases are stayed pending appeal.

However, a case cannot go forward for patent infringement when the patent is found to be invalid after reexamination, and all litigation on the case may be terminated once the patent is invalidated. In November of 2009 all independent claims requested for reexam of the patent were rejected, rendering the patent invalid unless the patentee is able to present arguments to overcome the grounds for refusal. The patentee's arguments filed on January 4, 2010, in an attempt to overcome these grounds, have been rejected by the USPTO.

About iGolf
Since 2003, iGolf, operated by L1 Technologies, has developed enterprise level and direct to consumer GPS software, products and services for the golf industry. Thousands of golfers rely on iGolf Mobile applications, Powered by iGolf partner products and iGolf.com every day to provide GPS data and listings for more than 32,500 courses worldwide. For more information please visit www.iGolf.com.

For additional details, contact:

Anthony Zazo
Marketing Manager
L1 Technologies Inc./iGolf Division
Phone: (858) 300-5513 x2381
E-mail: anthony.zazo@l1inc.com