A federal judge has denied summary judgment to Wilson Sporting Goods, which was sued for patent infringement by Everything Baseball, based in St. Charles, Illinois. Wilson was accused in a lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Court of copying a chest protector design that Everything Baseball had invented.

The defendants had moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the plaintiff’s 226 patent is invalid as anticipated by three prior art references, according to  dbusinessnews.com.


According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs, Sam Gallucci and Tom Serewicz, first built a prototype catcher chest protector having a portion extending over the shoulder areas of a catcher in 1999. The two were actively involved in the Wasco Baseball League in Wasco, IL, and found that balls would hit the unprotected top and back areas of the catcher's shoulder which the conventional chest protector did not cover.

 

In September 1999, they filed a patent protection on their new chest protector and at about the same time started Every Baseball, a store that sold baseball equipment. In December 2000, the two were issued the 226 patent for their chest protector product. Team Athletic Goods (TAG) became Everything Baseball's exclusive licensee under the 226 patent in October 2001.

 

Besides Wilson, defendants in the lawsuit, first filed in July 2008, also included: Hunt Wilson International, Schutt Sports, Hillerich & Bradsby, Ampac Enterprises, Rawlings, Adidas, Reebok, Riddell, Diamond Sport and Nocona Athletic Goods.