Oakley Inc. has settled its patent infringement lawsuit filed on Dec. 28, 2001 against I-Tech Sport Products Inc., for patent infringement and unfair competition alleging the infringement by ITECH of Oakley’s U.S. Patent No. 5,815,848 — “Impact Resistant Face Shield for Sporting Helmets.”
In conjunction with the settlement of the suit, ITECH has received an exclusive license agreement to use this patent for ITECH’s hockey shields. Oakley will receive an undisclosed per unit royalty and will also continue to use its patented technology with its own line of hockey shields. Oakley also has received notice of allowance of this patent in Canada and has other foreign equivalents of this patent pending in several key countries worldwide. By way of the agreement ITECH’s exclusive license, and royalty payments, shall apply worldwide.
“We hold the patented technology necessary to make optically correct face shields and feel that this is a great opportunity to leverage this patent into a royalty stream,” commented Link Newcomb, Chief Operating Officer.
“This settlement further validates our face shield patent which is also used for football helmets. Oakley intends to maintain its exclusive use of the patent in the manufacture, sale and distribution of optically correct football shields, already in use by many collegiate and professional athletes,” Newcomb concluded.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
