Burton Snowboards has reportedly sued the Oregon based snowboard company INCA after being reportedly accused of patent infringement, according to a story in the Rutland Herald.
In a Dec. 6 letter from attorney Michael Kane of Fish & Richardson, P.C. of Minneapolis, Minn., to Burton’s general counsel Scott Barrett, Kane writes that through press releases and other literature, his client, INCA Empire Corporation found out that Burton sold snowboards that infringed on INCA’s patented features. . . For example, the snowboards sold by your company that incorporate the ‘Burton Flying V’ and ‘Burton Camber Humps’ features appear to meet the limitations of several claims of the ‘562 patent. Similarly, the snowboards sold by your company that incorporate the ‘Negative Core Profile’ features appear to meet the limitations of several claims of the ‘483 patent. Consequently, INCA Empire would like to license the patented technology to your company on reasonable terms.”
Burton is asking the court for a “declaratory judgement that it did not infringes on any of INCA’s patents, according to the story and claims that they were already selling boards “a year or more before the patents were even effective.”
It appears that not only are INCA’s hopes to license the technology peacefully are gone, and now they’re defending in a lawsuit that if they lose will see them paying for Burton’s legal fees. How’s that for proactive.
[Link: Rutland Herald]
Wow, Inca, I thought they were extinct a LONG time ago, has anyone ever actually seen any of these boards in a shop or on a hill? I dought it
inca might not be a brand anymore, but the owners have money, heck they built their factory on an island in lake oswego in portland area. They started avia shoes & sold it. Should be interesting
burton, a thief? never (prior felonies: toe cap system, hghback, core profiling and construction methods). burton is a fucking bully, how the hell is inca going to be able to defend themselves-yes, they brought the gas to the fire… but their dual camber system has been ripped off by just about everyone, including never summer.
I saw Incas up at hood over a decade ago. wondered if they’d ever go after any of the new school camber boards that have come out in the past few years. I thought the inca stuff looked kinda whack, however they did have independent camber under the bindings years before burton did.
Inca may be a niche brand who is long gone but if someone ownes the patent, Burton may well be infringing.
It’s funny that Dan points out that Inca is LONG extinct but Burton claims to have sold boards with those contours for a year or more before Inca’s patent.
Hurton is bilarious.
This is why you shouldn’t support either of these brands! Corpo nonsense!
This is F-ing snowboarding people!!
just to let all of you know, Winterstick made some dual camber boards way back in the late 80’s. I am sure demitri milovich still has the prototypes , so neither of these guys or anyone else making those boards came up with it.
It is a bitch match though. I am sure in this case burton found it in their best interest to throw at lawyers then pay anyone
Doesn’t this fall under the “Larry Stevenson” rule…? If it’s an “invention” that’s deemed to be fairly obvious, isn’t it pretty much un-patentable….?
You know… like putting a visor on a helmet?
Just totally curious.
…and illuminati even had “never summer’s rocker system” five or six years before n.s. and burton started using extremely similar systems. interesting, i wonder if they will get in on this (probably too busy riding pow to care).
i wonder if burton ever thought to just call up the guys at inca and say, “hey you guys made a really cool product, want to go ride and grab a beer…” instead of launching a legal armada against inca for telling the truth in an interview. it just reenforces my almost thirty years of not buying anything burton; yes, they make great products… but the bullying shit should be left on a football field (or it’s digital brother, facebook).
anyways, with the lack of snow-camber is the only way to go.
This from the same company that brought you the “Flying V”. Who thinks a kink in the middle of a snowboard is a good idea, other than lawyers trying to get around the other rocker patents…
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