The U.S. Court of Appeals (Washington, D.C.) affirmed Switchcraft’s summary judgment win against Neutrik Inc., in regard to Switchcraft’s HPC Connector Series. The appellate court confirmed that Switchcraft has not violated Neutrik’s U.S. Patent No. 5205749 on the Speakon connector, or any Neutrik “trade dress.” (Neutrik dropped its trademark claims before the appeal.) In its decision, the appellate court states that “the district court did not err in its conclusion that the Switchcraft socket does not infringe the ‘749 patent as a matter of law.”
Keith Bandolik, president of Switchcraft, stated: “Once again, we are obviously pleased with the court’s ruling confirming that our HPC connector does not infringe on Neutrik’s patent or other intellectual property. We have taken the HPC product line to another level by offering features that include a wider variety of cord and in-line plug connectors, weather-tight seals, and the fact it does not require rotating the cord plug connectors to make contact.”
A complete copy of the appellate court’s ruling can be reviewed at www.switchcraft.com.
