Big TM's...Who is really funding the HR suit??????
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Topic: Big TM's...Who is really funding the HR suit??????
Posted By: Ken Harris
Subject: Big TM's...Who is really funding the HR suit??????
Date Posted: 25/July/2006 at 8:41pm
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This question was posted on the ICS board. I can't answer it over there, so I post it here so I can give my reply to this important question. I know the answer to the second part of the Question, but can not release it here, yet............I will have to keep that secret a little while longer..............
First, a little back ground history to bring readers here up to date in what has transpired so far:
-in 1997 I invented SS Skids with holes in them to put on my RX20 to use with the Power-Dri System I invented to dry carpet in under 1 hr. It worked so well I was able to dry carpets in minutes. I sold these shoes to my carpet cleaning company, Aqua-Jet Carpet Cleaning, but did not sell them to the general cleaning community or apply for any patents on them.
-Fast forward to 1999. Harris Research applies for a US patent on RX20 shoes with holes in them. These shoes were designed and produced for them by Hydramaster Corp.Patent is granted less than 2 years later in 2001.These shoes are simular to mine, but have a different shape than mine. Mine are completely rounded, whereas the HR shoes are concave on the ends to extract more water from a larger surface area.
Fast forward to July 2003. I design wand glides in teflon(the Superglides) in the same design as the ones used in SS on the Power-Dri system. I put them on sale from my website on July 23/03. That was 3 years ago on Sunday just past. I know that I cannot patent them myself cause I know HR would fight the patent, and I know that I would run out of money trying long before they would so I have a different idea. I will sell the idea to Hydro-Force and collect a royalty on every one that sells. I figure that HF has enough money to get them patented dispite HR's objections and efforts.I was wrong.
Deal with HF gets done on Sept 19th, 2003. I am now under contract and show up at the 1st Connections show at the end of September to help with the promotion of the glides. This was to be the intro of them to many cleaners. A phone call to me on September 29th on the day before the show opens from HR tells me not to sell the glides or I and HF will be sued. The hundreds of glides ready for the show are pulled. HF lawyer thinks that it is too risky to go ahead with sales, so sales are in limbo.I cannot sell them to distributors myself cause of my contract, and no money is coming in because HF is not selling. I manage to get my contract cancelled on OCT 15,2003 while I am in Chicago at the ISSA show. I am now free to sell glides myself to whomever I choose, and HF is free to do the same..
November 2003. I redesign the glides from holes over to slots in an effort to stop HR from going to court over the glides.A few different designs are tried. Glide sales were going well until February 2004. At that time the distributors that I was selling to where offered low priced glides($23.97) made in Acetal matterial,by HF, but they were told that they were Teflon. Sales plunged and I received many cancelled orders, caused mine were being sold for $89.00 at that time.By the time they discovered that these cheap glides were not teflon the following month in March, it was too late. The distributors were sent letters from HR telling them that it was an infringement of their patent to sell any of these glides. Most dealers stopped selling glides as of March 31,2004, including HF.They were not willing to go to court and risk loosing the case.Greenie stops selling for me as of this date as well. My serious cash flow problems begin. Late deliveries, bad feedback from customers, and Aqua-Max closes down 3 months later(June 2004) because of the loses.My partners bail out, so I am forced to close down.
Fast Forward to November 2004. I am back in biz by now selling single slot UHMW glides with a single or double supports under Turboteck Supplies . This is my company 100%, unlike Aqua-Max where I only controlled 34% of the shares.HR is leaving me alone on these ones, cause I sent them samples to show them that their patent was NOT being infringed by these glides. They are selling resonably well, cause that is all there is on the market to choose from.Connections 2 gets started. Greenie and Lisa show up with 18 Teflon glides made for the Titanium wand. These have holes in them , and are easy to push.They sell out at the show for $199 each. $3500 in receipts, not bad! HR is also at the show. In fact, they are right next to the both where my glides were selling! Coincidence? I think not.After they see what type of glides Greenie is selling at the Vortex display outside and is on many of the other TM distributors wands, they get pretty mad.They go around telling distributors to take them off their wands cause they are infringing on their patent. Most comply, and take them off. All except Greenie and Lisa's wand. That stays on. I get my picture taken pushing it. lol
Green Glides is set up after that show, because of the demand from cleaners to sell teflon glides with holes for other wands as well.We switch back to teflon glides with holes as well to meet the demand .No one hears anything from HR till November of 2005. Lisa is convinced that they will not push the glides issue to court, and even if they do, she say she will take alot of money from them for interfering in their business. I know better. Inside sources from that company(HR) tell me that they are letting the damages accomulate so the judgement from winning is worth their while to persue. In November, I and Greenglides receives notice of the suit, as well as some of my distributors.The fight is still on going. HR is attempting to run down the cash reserves of Green Glides and win by attrition. That is their style. I am not allowing them to do this to me. I will still be here and will still be here regardless of whatever happens in this suit. I have an Ace that I can play if I need to. My glides were out before the HR patent application of 1999.By sending my proof of this to the USA patent office, the HR patent will either be disolved, or an exemption will be given. Either way, I get to sell my glides into the USA.
In the first case, if the patent is desolved, I get lots of competition selling glides. I do not want this. Prices would fall and most would make very little money on them. In the second instance, my exemption would mean that I would likely be the only one selling glides after this year. If that happened the market demand means that glide sales would be established permantly in the market for the next 13 years with no competition. But regardless of which of these scenarios happens, cleaners get to have glides.
Chris sometimes forgets that I am still selling them and will continue to do so.
So the short answer is, neither of these big companies needs to do anything. I have got it under control already. They just need to buy their glides from a different provider is all.And wait just a little bit longer. All this court action will be ending in the next 10 months, and the glide selling business will be a peaceful one after that.
Ken
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Replies:
Posted By: Ninja-wand
Date Posted: 26/July/2006 at 1:29am
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Thanks for the insight Ken. Very interesting. ------------- I'll make you TAP OUT!!! |
Posted By: Ken Harris
Date Posted: 26/July/2006 at 1:31pm
Posted By: Ken Harris
Date Posted: 26/July/2006 at 3:20pm
| Yes, it is true. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO IS RIGHT OR WRONG WHEN YOU GO TO COURT IN THE USA OVER A PATENT DISPUTE. IT ONLY COUNTS IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO STAY IN THE GAME UNTIL YOU CAN PROVE YOU ARE RIGHT!!!!!! If you don't have the money to go the distance there with your deep pocket adversery, you are wasting your time and money.I was told a long time ago that you never patent anything unless there is a minimum $1 Million in sales potential from it, and even then don't do it unless you are prepared to spend another million defending it in the courts from those that will try to take it away from you, or will claim they had it first. Smart advice to listen to. |
Posted By: Ken Harris
Date Posted: 27/July/2006 at 1:02am
 
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Posted By: dennis_is_ok
Date Posted: 27/July/2006 at 10:34pm
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do you sell lips?
i ordered some from |
Posted By: Dennis Conner
Date Posted: 27/July/2006 at 11:25pm
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He sells things and doesn't deliver them...you have been warned.
Also, there are a numbr of lies, or at the very least inconsistancies in kennie's story above.
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