Posts Tagged: "Shark Tank"

Federal Circuit Upholds Attorneys’ Fees Award, Grants Appellate Fees and Double Costs in Cheekd Dating App Case

In 2019, IPWatchdog reported on Lori Cheek, an independent inventor and founder of the dating service, Cheekd, who has spent the last several years defending herself against accusations brought by Alfred Pirri, Jr. of fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets, among other claims. Cheek told us then that she felt like the U.S. patent and legal systems had done her few favors and that she wished she’d never filed for a patent in the first place. This week, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) delivered Cheek a win, affirming a district court’s finding that she is entitled to attorneys’ fees, and additionally ruling that Pirri, through his lawyer, Steven Fairchild, acted egregiously and that “exceptional sanctions” were warranted.

How U.S. Patent and Litigation Abuse Can Deter Small Inventors: The Story of Cheekd

In one more example of ways the U.S. patent system can be stacked against the small inventor, we have the story of Lori Cheek, who more than ten years ago had an idea for a unique dating service that she dubbed Cheekd. In 2008, still just prior to the age when people existed via smartphone, the patent she applied for covered a card-based dating system. Cheek decided to leave her steady job as an architect to pursue the idea of a business centered around pre-printed dating cards featuring clever pick-up lines and held a brainstorming session with friends on February 22, 2008. On March 7, 2008, she registered the URL Youvebeencheekd.com (now cheekd.com) with GoDaddy, and officially founded her company, Cheekd, on April 20, 2009. She applied for a patent in 2010 and it was granted on September 24, 2013. A few years later was when the trouble started for Cheek, and today, she is embroiled in her second lawsuit over a patent on a business she is no longer pursuing, both brought by a man, Alfred Pirri, whose first suit was dismissed in pre-trial conference.

How IP Took a First-Time Inventor from Shark Tank to $30M in Sales

Sleep Styler creator Tara Brown, an ophthalmologist by trade, turned to Knobbe Martens for help securing IP protection as soon as she had her final prototype – a no-heat hair roller –  in hand. Attorneys helped her file for patent protection and obtain trademark registration. Brown then raised over $40,000 in an August 2016 Kickstarter campaign, and in March 2017, her Shark Tank episode aired, where she agreed to take $75,000 in funding in exchange for 25 percent equity.  The very next week, sales soared from $70,000 in revenue to $3 million, and within three months hit the $50 million mark.

Mark Cuban-backed LuminAID receives first U.S. patent, completes $2 million in sales through 2015

The company has been earning a bit of acclaim from media publications for its technology. Tech news outlet CNET has reported that, when deflated, 50 LuminAID solar-powered lights can ship in the same amount of space as eight flashlights. Popular Science also gave the product a glowing review as a useful accessory for campers or hikers. The product hasn’t just attracted media attention, however. It also has wooed the financial backing of Mark Cuban, one of the regular business investors featured on hit reality TV show Shark Tank. Cuban, a billionaire tech investor and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, offered to invest in LuminAID’s business on an episode of Shark Tank airing in February 2015.

Necessity is the Father of Invention

A lot has been said about mom inventors who came up with ideas to solve problems that revolved around parenting, but there are plenty of hands-on dads who have come up with their own solutions to problems that involve their kids. Here are three examples of dad inventors who have done just that.