McAndrews, Held & Malloy

Back to News Releases

	08/08/2005 McAndrews, Held & Malloy Secures Patent Litigation Settlement for Inventor
	Individual Inventor Prevails Against Industry-Leading Graphic Supplies Company CHICAGO, IL – August 8, 2005 – McAndrews, Held & Malloy today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has approved the settlement agreement between its client Daniel Russo and both Base-Line, Inc., and Base-Line II, Inc. in regard to printing masking sheets used by printers nationwide. Mr. Russo claimed that Base-Line infringed his U.S. Patent No. 6,258,446 for a pre-ruled vinyl printing masking sheet that is used to prepare printing plates. In March 2005, the Court granted in its entirety Mr. Russo’s motion for summary judgment that his patent is valid, and denied Base-Line’s motion for summary judgment that the patent is invalid. Following this ruling, Mr. Russo and Base-Line agreed to a settlement that was submitted to the Court for approval. As a result of the settlement, Base-Line has agreed to pay Mr. Russo for past damages and pay a royalty on future sales of pre-ruled vinyl masking sheets. Base-Line is a leading graphic arts company and printing products distributor based in Gurnee, IL. Prior to Mr. Russo’s 1995 invention of a vinyl masking sheet featuring a printed grid, there was a need in the printing industry for a durable masking sheet that would not stretch or shrink and offered a way to accurately position images. In 1995, shortly after he started a business to manufacture his masking sheets, Mr. Russo was approached by Base-Line concerning the product. Mr. Russo provided samples to Base-Line, but was later told that Base-Line was not interested in his invention. In 1998, Base-Line introduced the line of printed vinyl masking sheets that Mr. Russo claimed infringed his patent. “This settlement shows that our legal system will protect a lone inventor’s, or a small business’, intellectual property rights against a competitor with substantial resources,” said Steve Hampton, board member at McAndrews, Held & Malloy and chief trial attorney for Russo. “We couldn’t be more pleased with this clear vindication of Mr. Russo’s intellectual property rights or prouder of the effort by everyone involved that achieved this result.” # # # About McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd. Founded in 1988, McAndrews, Held & Malloy is one of the nation’s preeminent legal resources on intellectual property, antitrust and technology matters, serving institutions ranging from major multinationals and start-ups to world-class colleges and universities. The firm’s technically trained attorneys have built an unparalleled record of litigation successes in jury trials, bench trials and ADR proceedings. In addition, McAndrews, Held & Malloy offers its clients services in the following areas: patent and trademark procurement and portfolio management, patent interferences, trademark oppositions and cancellations, international practice, intellectual property/technology opinions and investigations, due diligence and M&A support, technology licensing and joint ventures, and technology transfers and donations. Additional information can be found at http://www.mcandrews-ip.com. CONTACT: Jeremy J. Ahto / David Schulte Healy Communications 312/440-3900 jahto@healyco.com dschulte@healyco.com