Brann & Isaacson Wins Summary Judgment in Maine Design Patent Case

On August 29, 2023, U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy of the District of Maine granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Peter J. Brann, David Swetnam-Burland, and Stacy O. Stitham, on behalf of Brann & Isaacson client The Armaid Company. Judge Levy agreed with the B&I team that Armaid had not infringed a design patent to a body massaging apparatus asserted by the plaintiff, Range of Motion Products, LLC. Range of Motion initially filed suit against Armaid in 2021, but dropped the suit after Judge Levy denied its motion for a preliminary injunction. After Armaid’s principal, Terry Cross, died in a tragic car accident in December 2021, Range of Motion sued again, asserting the same design patent. In a comprehensive 30-page ruling, Judge Levy concluded that no reasonable jury could find that the design of the accused Armaid product was substantially similar to the very narrow design claimed in the Range of Motion patent.