Date: May 23, 2013 Source: (
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Alexandria, VA - BriarTek takes great pride in its intellectual property and the successful enforcement of its revolutionary patents. BriarTek, Inc. manufactures and sells the Cerberus Satellite Emergency Notification Device system and is prepared, along with its licensee Yellowbrick, to supply products and services to this developing industry. BriarTek IP, Inc. will continue to vigorously enforce its intellectual property, not only ensuring its not infringed, but that competitor DeLorme complies with a consent order recently accepted by the Federal Trade Commission. In this consent order, DeLorme agrees not to sell their imported products in the United States that infringe on BriarTek's patent.
The Backstory
BriarTek filed a provisional patent application in March, 2006, for a "Global Bidirectional Locator Beacon and Emergency Communications System." The patent was granted in August 2, 2011.
In August of 2012, BriarTek IP filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission requesting an investigation of DeLorme and Yellowbrick claiming that their products infringed on BriarTek's U.S. Patent No. 7,991,380 (the ‘380 Patent) that allows for two-way text communication through a satellite infrastructure. Yellowbrick was terminated from the Investigation after they entered into a licensing agreement with BriarTek. DeLorme did not enter into a licensing agreement.
The Determination
In March of 2013, The U.S. International Trade Commission's Administrative Law Judge issued an Initial Determination terminating the Investigation based on entry of a consent order executed by BriarTek against competitor DeLorme. Under the consent order, DeLorme has agreed that it "will not import into the United States, sell for importation into the United States, or sell or offer for sale within the United States after importation any two--way global satellite communication devices, system, and components thereof, that infringes on BriarTek's U.S. Patent ‘380 Patent after April 1, 2013, until the expiration, invalidation, and/or unenforceability of the '380 Patent or except under consent or license from Complainant, its successors, or assignees." In addition, Delorme has stipulated to jurisdiction and "waiv[ed] all rights to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of the Consent Order entered pursuant to this Stipulation." The Order is subject to Commission review at which point it will become final.
According to BriarTek President Joe Landa, "BriarTek is simply interested in protecting its intellectual property and the investment the company has made." Mr. Landa states, "We don't want to slow down the release of any of these products coming to market. We have long been a proponent of getting these life-saving devices in the hands of the public and would prefer to see more of them in use. However, we have worked hard, were awarded a patent, and we hope that others will respect our legal rights."
Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, BriarTek, Inc., manufactures and markets a full range of commercial- and military-grade man overboard indicators (MOBI) and personal locator devices. Deeply-rooted in the protection of U.S. Navy and commercial fleet personnel, the company also offers a line of personal locator beacons designed for recreational boaters.
