The suits claim that all three companies continue to manufacture products that infringe patent (US D572,865 S) for a helmet with a small brim. The helmets Bern claims are infringing include the Red Mutiny, the Vans Pro-Tec Riot and the Salomon Ghost and Brigade Audio.
In their “Prayer For Relief” Bern lawyers from the Boston, Massachusetts firm Birnbaum & Godkin are requesting that Burton, Vans, and Amer Sports enjoin from further infringement and that Bern Unlimited, Inc. be awarded “damages in an amount to be proven at trial” and “multiple damages, costs and attorneys fees.”
The patent, awarded to Jonathan Baker of Thornton, New Hampshire on July 8, 2008, shows a helmet that looks much like a batting helmet with no ear covers and a shorter brim. It will be interesting to see if lawsuits based on helmet brim length do in court.
For a full view of the patent (and the lawsuit filed against) follow the jump. [click to continue…]
We at Snowbasin Resort had an incident yesterday for which we have received much deserved criticism. We are frankly embarrassed by this situation and have taken measures to prevent this type of incident occurring in the future. Snowbasin strongly believes in treating all of our guests with respect. We strive to deserve the respect and exceed the expectations of everyone visiting our resort.”
The patroller, seen above, told a snowboarder to “shut his fucking mouth” after one of the snowboarders friends had his pass pulled for what appears on video to be absolutely nothing. Patrollers obviously have a rough job during the holidays, but there really is no reason for them to act like Baltimore Police officers. To his credit the patroller did apologize later in the video.
The Sacramento Bee has run a photo essay on just how bad the Tahoe winter is going right now. And from the looks Squaw Valley, it’s worse than most could imagine. For the rest of the slideshow, click the link.
Oregon’s Mt. Hood Meadows resort was forced to close early yesterday (Wednesday, December 28, 2011) after the resort got over five inches of rain in 24 hours, according to a story on KOIN 6.
Several inches of water pooled on top of the snow creating a wet sloppy mess for skiers and snowboarders. . . “It looks like a lake over there,” said snowboarder Katie Kesee of the puddles near the lodge. Kesee drove up to Meadows from Vancouver Wednesday morning. “Usually it’s snowy and nice around Christmas, not this year,” she added. . . Meadows decided to close all lifts and lodge operations at one o’clock. “There’s nobody up here, nobody,” said Kesee.
Looks like the West’s worst season ever, continues in full effect.
Surfline founder Sean Collins died on Monday, December 26, 2011 after suffering a heart attack while playing tennis in Orange County, California according to a story onSurfline.com. He was 59 years old.
Collins served as President, Chief Surf Forecaster, and Founder for Surfline. Over the past 30 years, he helped develop a sophisticated, proprietary system of wave forecasting — much of which is currently used in LOLA, Surfline’s Global Swell Model. Now, Surfline provides weather and forecasting services to every lifeguard agency in California, the Coast Guard, US Navy Seals, National Weather Service, numerous television and movie production companies, multiple domestic and international governmental agencies and nearly every surf company in the world.
Our thoughts are with Collins’ wife, Daren, and two sons, Tyler and AJ. For more on the life of a truly amazing member of the surfing community please click the link.
Matthew Box is an watercolor artist who has created a skateboarding video by using his brushes to paint every single frame of some Jason Dill footage, according to a story in The Atlantic.
It’s an old animation technique called rotoscoping, but I didn’t know that at the time though. It’s essentially tracing over stills of footage. While I was experimenting with this technique I used different colors and really enjoyed how it had a psychedelic feel. That’s when I came up with the name Acid Drops for the project. It was a lot of painting but I’m kind of an amateur insomniac. It gave me something to do when I couldn’t sleep and it’s quite addictive seeing something you’ve painted come to life.
The short is called Acid Drops. For the rest of the interview, click the link.
Kimberly Bland, a skier from Florida is suing South Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Ski Resort after she was hit and injured by an on-the-clock mountain employee riding a snowboard, according to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
[Bland] was stopped on the lower Olympic downhill run on the Nevada side of the resort, at about 3:50 p.m. on Jan. 18, trying to decide where to ski next, when Heavenly lift operator Daniel Barreno crashed into Bland on his snowboard, the suit said. . . Bland, a paramedic in the Miami area, was knocked unconscious by the impact and was taken by ambulance to the Barton Hospital emergency department, said the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Reno. . . She suffered injuries to her head, neck, shoulder and back, the suit said.
In the suit Bland is seeking “at least $350,000 in damages, plus costs and fees.” We’ll say this again, though it seems so obvious to us. Any snowboarder who can’t avoid hitting a person stopped on a run, has no right being on the snow. The courts will decide how responsible Heavenly is.
Want to try out all the new Burton product, catch some live music, maybe compete in a snowboard contest while you’re at it? The Burton Mountain Festival (traveling to 10 mountains in four months) has it all covered in this traveling marketing extravaganza brought to you by Mini, Kodak, Mitch by Paul Mitchell, Snowboarder Magazine and sadly, a caffeinated, carbonated, high fructose corn syrup peddler.
Burton Mountain Festival stops will include up to four key elements: Burton Test Ride, Riglet Parks, Pro-Test and live music for an entire day of good times. And while each festival stop will be unique, the foundation of the festival is the Burton Test Ride program, which will be at all 10 stops. Test Ride is where virtually the entire 2012 Burton hardwoods line will be on tap for riders to test at absolutely no charge. Riders can try out a variety of boards, boots and bindings to get a feel for their ultimate set-up.
