Fintiv Denial Despite Stipulation, PTAB Litigation Blog
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On May 9, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board denied Hillman Group, Inc.’s (“Hillman’s”) three petitions for inter partes review. See The Hillman Group, Inc. v. Hy-Ko Products Co. LLC, IPR2022-00168, -00169, and -00174. Parallel litigation in the Eastern District of Texas between these two key-duplication competitors is scheduled to commence in July 2022. In the district court litigation, Hy-Ko Products Company LLC (“Hy-Ko”) alleges that Hillman’s products infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 9,656,332, 9,682,432 and 10,421,133 (the “’332 patent,” “’432 patent,” and “’133 patent,” respectively). Complaint at 16, Hy-Ko Products Co. LLC v. The Hillman Group, Inc., 2-21-cv-00197 (E.D. Tex. 2021). These patents relate generally to apparatuses and methods for duplicating keys, and more specifically, for cutting duplicate keys based on a captured image of a master key. In addition, Hy-Ko alleges that Hillman engaged in false advertising, unlawful conversion of property or receipt of stolen property, unfair competition, and infringement of Hy-Ko’s patents through reverse engineering of an illegally-acquired Hy-Ko key-duplication machine. Complaint at 1, Hy-Ko Products Co. LLC v. The Hillman Group, Inc., 2-21-cv-00197 (E.D. Tex. 2021).
Nicole Newman, in the Boston Office, assisted with the preparation of this Alert
