The PFO patent lawsuit is dead in the water
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With the shuttering of PFO and their subsequent bankrupcy, the PFO patent lawsuit has now come to a grinding halt. The case hasn’t been officially dismissed by a court judge but given all the facts, this outcome is all but inevitable. This is bad news for aquarists because not only did Orbitec succeed in pushing out the #1 LED light manufacturer, but the hobby/industry didn’t get it’s chance to refute the claims of the over reaching LED patent. With the patent claims neither rejected or upheld, it is very likely that the legal sharks at Orbitec will be chomping at the bit to take someone down in court over the violation of their patent. This first battle may have been lost but the war is far from over. A quick search of LED stories here at Reef Buidlers alone reveals a deluge of new LED based products are now entering the aquarium market from all different angles. Orbitec may be able to hold back a trickle of products but with all the LED light manufacturers working to produce products that circumvent the claims of the LED patent, once the floodgates open up there will be nothing they can do to further prevent the advancement of aquarium LED lighting.
Well we all knew that this going to happen I guess but I think Orbitech has absolutley killed themselves in this market by doing this. Seriously, did Tom really think that nothing was going to happen, that nobody was going to try to get around their “patent”. The reefer community is resourceful and yes in the end if Orbitech keeps going after other LED light companies they are going to kill themselves. Kind of reminds me in a way of Mac in the earlier years, isolated themselves by holding to tight.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
[...] Hey guys, dunno if this thread is still active But here it goes The PFO patent lawsuit is dead in the water | Reef Builders [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
ElebrIend Apple protected themselves and they are still around and more powerfull than ever, not sure how that makes any sense here, except that i am happy to see PFO gone, their light was trash.
i dont think orbitech is chomping at the bit to go after anybody else i think that is total sensationalism on the part of reef builders.
i cant wait to see what orbitech comes up with…
April 20th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Welp by throwing such a hissy fit orbitec has managed to take one source of competition and turn it into many…. A poor move on their part. Many opportunists will spot the battle flag and run straight into the war zone to pick off any one who is already weakened my the financial toll of legal warfare… All they did was make it so obvious that there is a huge demand for advanced led lighting… and instead of simply making a superior product to PFO they decide to throw a hissy fit and make a scene….. poor … poor judgment.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I really hope PFO can rebound down the road and come back blazing. Too many smart folks over there not to have pushing the envelope on the industry. Maybe they should have gotten Mark Cuban as an investor
Whatever Orbitec was hoping to get out of it, I hope karma is the bitch she can be and come and hit them square in the arse. Maybe a few of those gov’t contracts failing would be nice!
April 20th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
If Orbitec does actually ever bring out something for the reef hobby, people should boycott them… What this is going to cause is more companies moving to China so they do not have to worry about these patent law suits and even cause more piracy on legit companies. This will hurt companies that have legit claims against another company too. This country has become so sue happy it will eventually push every company out of business or to China. Big companies suing little companies even if they have no claim over them, Hey either pay up or our money and layers will put you out of business..
April 21st, 2009 at 11:35 am
Nick
PFO built awsum fixtures. I had a 250 metal halide fixture for years and was built like a tank. PFO was a good company and I had a few friends that worked for them that are now out of a job. One has been in this hobby since almost the beginning.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Dave they should have continued to sell MH stuff, the solaris was unreliable junk and there are plenty of ex owners who will agree. Not to mention the all the white lies used by PFO to market the fixture.
Orbitech has every right to defend their patent. They also have every right to enter the market with their own fixture. This bitterness Is rediculous.
Bravo orbitech way to protect your ideas!!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 am
Where, as of September 8, 2009, is this LED Above Aquariums issue right now? What are the manners of going-around the patent?
September 8th, 2009 at 10:44 pm