Quickutz

Stay Issued in Spellbinders-QuicKutz Lawsuit

December 18, 2010 By Nancy Nally 1 Comment

The judge assigned to the lawsuit that Spellbinders has filed against the entity that used to be QuicKutz has issued a stay in the case, pending the outcome of the ’634 patent reexam that is currently underway at the U.S PTO. Since the ’634 patent is the patent that Spellbinders is suing Quickutz for allegedly violating, invalidating the patent in the reexam would remove the grounds for the lawsuit.

The stay ceases activity in the case until the patent reexam is completed. The attorneys for the two sides had been engaged in the pre-trial discovery process, which was scheduled to last into summer 2011.

On October 22nd, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office ruled in a non-final reexam against Spellbinders‘ basis for holding the patent on all 47 of the company’s original claims. The company has two months from the date of that ruling to file a response to the arguments against their 47 claims, or presenting new claims supporting the patent.

The judge’s stated basis for issuing the stay was, in part, that he presumes (based on the total rejection of the claims supporting the patent’s granting in the non-final ruling) that at least some of the claims supporting the ownership of the patent will be rejected, which he says will simplify the case.

The QuicKutz trademark is now owned by Lifestyle Crafts, who is not party to the suit filed by Spellbinders. The entity that is the target of the lawsuit is now called QK 2015, since the QuicKutz trademark was sold to Lifestyle Crafts.

QK 2015 president Eric Ruff issued this statement to Scrapbook Update about this latest ruling in the case:

I’m pleased with the judge’s decision to stay this litigation. This helps stop the needless bleeding and harm that this lawsuit caused QuicKutz. And I’m glad that, in rejecting all the Spellbinders claims, the Patent Office has validated our position. I only wish we could have reached this point a long time ago.

A representative for Spellbinders told Scrapbook Update that the company has no comment on the latest development in the case.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: QK 2015, Quickutz, Spellbinders

US PTO Rejects Spellbinders’ 634 Patent Claims

November 5, 2010 By Nancy Nally 2 Comments

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued a non-final ruling in the Ex Parte Reexamination that is being done of Spellbinders’ “634 patent” at the request of QuicKutz.

Spellbinders is currently suing (the entity formerly known as) QuicKutz for violating the ’634 patent, and QuicKutz requested the PTO conduct the Reexamination because it contends that Spellbinders should not have been granted the patent based on the original application. Of course, no valid patent would equal no grounds for Spellbinders to sue QuicKutz on, and the lawsuit would be over. The Ex Parte Reexamination essentially completely reevaluates the granting of the patent from the beginning, taking into account this time additional evidence provided to the PTO (in this case by QuicKutz) regarding the matter.

The results of the Reexamination were not supportive of Spellbinders’ patent at all. The patent was initially awarded on the basis of 47 claims made by Spellbinders. In the Reexamination, all 47 claims were rejected, leaving no grounds to support the patent for Spellbinders.

This ruling is non-final, however. Spellbinders has two months from the issue date of the ruling (Oct. 22nd) to respond to the PTO action and support their right to the ’634 patent by refuting the rejections of the claims or offering new grounds (claims) in support of the patent.

Eric Ruff, President of QK2015 (the actual current name of the company being sued by Spellbinders since the QuicKutz trademark was sold to Lifestyle Crafts earlier this year), told Scrapbook Update about the ruling, “I am very pleased that the USPTO has come down hard and strong so quickly against Spellbinders’ claims.”

Spellbinders issued the following statement in response to the PTO action:

Spellbinders stands firmly by its innovative products and patents that continue to revolutionize the paper crafting industry. In recognition of the advancements pioneered by our founders, the company affirms its existing patent protection. We look forward to continuing our history of product ingenuity by revealing new products at Winter CHA 2011!

Lifestyle Crafts, which now owns the QuicKutz trademark and the product lines which are at issue in the suit, is not a party to the lawsuit or patent re-examination and its representative said it had no comment on the ruling.

Check out the quarterly sale going on now at Designer Digitals…30% off every regular item in the store:

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Lifestyle Crafts, QK2015, Quickutz, Spellbinders

QuicKutz Assets Bought By Investment Group

July 9, 2010 By Nancy Nally 7 Comments

A Utah-based investor group called Lifestyle Crafts, LLC, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy the assets of QuicKutz, Inc.

Lifestyle Crafts, LLC. is a newly founded investor group described by the company as being made up of investors “with years of experience in manufacturing and distributing crafting goods and tools.” Its registered address is in Lindon, Utah. Principals of the company include Stephen Stewart TRUST of Farmington, UT; Daniel S. Stewart of Farmington, UT; and Hsin I. Shih of Taipei.

Both the QuicKutz and L brands will become part of Lifestyle Crafts under the terms of the asset purchase agreement.

“We’re thrilled to acquire these established brands, which have a rich history in providing the crafting market with fun and innovative products. We see a great future for both brands,” said Dan Stewart, Lifestyle Crafts CEO.

Former QuicKutz, Inc. President & CEO Eric J. Ruff says he feels positive about the future for the brands he helped create:

These brands are in good hands now, with many more resources to provide product to a growing customer base. Though I will miss my association with the company, I’m excited to see these brands thrive under new ownership.

In possibly related news, Quickutz’s attorneys in the patent violation lawsuit filed against them by Spellbinders filed a request with the court on June 11th (with the approval of QuicKutz President Eric Ruff) asking to be released from their duties in the case. The court approved the motion on June 14th and released the attorneys, leaving QuicKutz currently without counsel of record in the case since no new counsel for them has filed to be recognized by the court.

The sale of QuicKutz’s assets will likely drastically change the course of the Spellbinders patent violation lawsuit. The lawsuit is asking for several key things:

Stopping QuicKutz from manufacturing, promoting, and selling the allegedly infringing products
Damages for past infringement
The seizure & destruction, or turning over to Spellbinders, of infringing product inventory

QuicKutz will no longer be the legal entity that will be selling the allegedly infringing products, and with their product inventory presumably one of the assets that they sold, that is gone too from the reach of the current lawsuit. The only thing it appears might remain within the reach of the lawsuit as it currently stands against entity QuicKutz is damages for alleged past infringement by that entity.

QuicKutz recently released its first new product introduction in quite some time, but the company is not scheduled to exhibit at CHA Summer 2010.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Quickutz, Spellbinders

Update on Spellbinders vs Quickutz

May 18, 2010 By Nancy Nally 4 Comments

Recent activity in the patent infringement case that Spellbinders has filed against Quickutz indicates that the case isn’t likely to be decided any time soon, or even this year.

In January, Quickutz indicated in their court filing responded to Spellbinders’ suit that they intended to file with the US Patent & Trade Office asking for a re-evaluation of the original granting of the patent they are being sued for allegedly violating. This filing has now been accepted by the PTO, and on May 4th was assigned to an examiner by evaluation. No time frame is set for the completion of the re-examination process, which could be lengthy. If the patent were to ultimately be declared invalid, of course, then Quickutz cannot be sued for violating it.

While the re-examination of the patent is underway, pretrial activities will also be ongoing in the case. The two sides held a scheduling conference on April 16th. The resulting calendar of deadlines for the completion of various pretrial discovery and deposition activities has now been approved by the court. Pretrial activities in the case are scheduled to last over a year, into June 2011, and only after those activities are completed can the case proceed to trial.

A settlement in the case appears unlikely given that there were unsuccessful talks before the suit was originally filed.

Quickutz is not currently listed on the CHA Summer 2010 exhibitors’ list. Spellbinders will be at CHA Summer 2010 in booth #1423.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Quickutz, Spellbinders

Scrapbook Update CHA Winter 2010 Predictions

January 21, 2010 By Nancy Nally 1 Comment

Well, the show is almost upon us…many people have already arrived in Anaheim and the rest of us are frantically preparing. Here’s a last-minute look at what I predict are some trends we’ll be seeing when the doors open on Sunday:

1. It’s all about die cutting.

Die cutting, both manual and electronic will be a hot topic at this year’s show. On the manual side, new exhibitor Dies Direct is a die maker (and involved peripherally in the Spellbinders suit versus Quickutz). New exhibitor Scrapping Cottage is also an independent die maker. Sizzix is introducing hotly-anticipated dies by designer Tim Holtz. Several other companies are coming out with embossing folders that there is much buzz about.

The electronic die side is the really hot category, though. Silhouette America, formerly a division of Quickutz, is another new exhibitor. They are there to display their electronic die cutter. Craftwell – yet another new exhibitor – will also be there to display an electronic die cutter. Sizzix isn’t a new exhibitor but they have a new machine coming called the eClips. Cricut also has been teasing a major announcement, and Making Memories has new products coming for its Slice line.

2. We’re going green.

Several companies were promoting their green certifications or initiatives at CHA-Summer and that will definitely continue at CHA-Winter 2010. Everything from eco-friendly production to eco-friendly booths like the one boasted by Sandylion at CHA-Summer 2009 will be more visible. In fact, one of the new exhibitors, Eco Green Crafts, boasts that it is devoted to supplies made from “non-toxic, recycled, and environmentally-friendly materials.”

3. We’re going patriotic.

A few companies were promoting products at the last show as being “Made in the USA.” Even more companies were selling U.S.-made products but not promoting their origin heavily. As the economy has sunk further and further, Americans have become more concerned about the purchasing of foreign products. “Buy local” is becoming a serious movement. Expect to see more companies who make their products domestically using that fact in their marketing.

4. It’s all about stamping.

Stamping is hot, hot, hot! We saw the start of this in Orlando, with stamp manufacturers doing big business, scrapbook manufacturers releasing extensive collections of stamps as part of their collections, and booths like Paper Trey Ink and Split Coast Stampers attracting huge crowds at the Supershow. At least a half-dozen new exhibitors in Anaheim are stamp companies, and many traditional scrapbooking companies will be emphasizing their stamp offerings.

5. Paper is reborn as digital.

In the past several weeks, two major manufacturers have announced initiatives to sell their older paper catalog designs in digital format: BasicGrey and Die Cuts With A View. Over a dozen other companies are involved in ScrapHD, an effort under construction to sell their designs in a digital format.

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