June 9, 2004 - Houston, TX July and November of 2003 have shown to be victorious months for USA Sports (Troy Barbell). A U.S. District Court in California granted USA Sports' summary judgment motions against Iron Grip and York Barbell.
In early 2002, Iron Grip and York Barbell claimed that USA Sports' Troy® interlocking Olympic plate infringes on York's 5,853,355 (entitled "Manipulatable weight plate"), and Iron Grip's 6,436,015 (entitled "Weight plate having triad of integrally formed handles") patents. The U.S. District Court granted USA Sports a summary judgment motion concluding that USA Sports' Troy® interlocking Olympic plate does not infringe upon York's slotted `355 patent. In a separate summary judgment motion, the District Court concluded that claims 1-3 and 6-8 of Iron Grip's `015 multi-hole weight plate to be invalid. The `015 judgment is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Federal Circuit.
In related news, USA Sports and Iron Grip have reached a settlement agreement regarding USA Sports Troy's® twelve-sided dumbbell line. In 2002, Iron Grip filed suit against USA Sports claiming USA Sports infringe on their D409,266 patent, a design patent featuring Iron Grip's twelve-sided dumbbell. As a result of the settlement agreement, Iron Grip dropped their lawsuit against USA Sports and permanently consented to not sue USA Sports on its Troy® twelve-sided dumbbell line for `266 patent infringement.
USA Sports is committed to providing innovative quality products and the highest level of customer service. For more information concerning USA Sports' line of products, please call 1-800-872-7767 or visit www.troybarbell.com.
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