ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Jan. 29, St. Louis-based U.S. Ring Binder L.P. received a unanimous federal jury verdict that declared invalid two patents held by China-based World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

“We are grateful to the jury for its verdict,” says Bob Premnath, president and chief executive officer of U.S. Ring. “World Wide Stationery’s abuse of the U.S. patent system was soundly rejected. This case is not only a victory for U.S. Ring, but for the entire industry, which has been strangled by a classic case of market domination using among other methods, exploitation of the weaknesses in the U.S. patent system.”

U.S. Ring, the defendant, was sued by World Wide Stationery for patent infringement involving U.S. Ring’s Insta-Clik mechanism, which is used in three-ring binders.

U.S. Ring is a global supplier and World Wide Stationery’s last remaining competitor. Since 1913, U.S. Ring has continuously manufactured ring metals at its plant in the City of St. Louis. In 2008, World Wide Stationery began sending letters claiming patent infringement to companies that purchased Insta-Clik binders. By 2009, Insta-Clik binder sales had fallen by 90 percent from the previous year.

In the civil suit, World Wide Stationery alleged that the Insta-Clik infringed two United States patents.

U.S. Ring denied the allegations and asserted two defenses. First, the Insta-Clik mechanism did not infringe on World Wide Stationery’s patents. Second, World Wide Stationery’s patents were invalid because they did not cover new inventions and that some of the elements were invented in the early 1900s. In its counterclaim, U.S. Ring asserted that World Wide Stationery made false statements to its customers about the alleged infringement. U.S. Ring sought a declaration that the patents were invalid and unenforceable.

After a two-week trial, the jury concluded that World Wide Stationery’s patents were invalid because they did not cover a new invention.

U.S. Ring Binder was represented by Anthony G. Simon and Timothy E. Grochocinski of St. Louis’ The Simon Law Firm.

The case, World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. v. U.S. Ring Binder, L.P., cause no. 4:07cv1947, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division.

For more information, contact Bob Premnath at 314-645-7880 or email bp@usring.com. U.S. Ring Binder produces the metal ring mechanisms found in loose leaf binders, notebooks and daytimers, clips for clipboards, as well as lever arch mechanisms.