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.
Business
- ‘Reasonable Efforts’ Require Care and Consistency
- WTO Announces COVID Vaccine Waiver Deal That Virtually No One Wants
- The Biden Administration’s Neutrality Position on SEP Remedies is a Good Move
- Mossoff-Barnett Comment on EU Commission’s Call for SEP Evidence Spotlights Misconceptions About FRAND Obligations
- Misusing March-in Rights for Price Control: A Dagger to the Heart of Small Companies
Recent Posts
- USPTO Report Underscores Split on State of U.S. Patent Eligibility Jurisprudence
- ‘Reasonable Efforts’ Require Care and Consistency
- CAFC Sends Centripetal Back to Drawing Board in Case with Cisco Due to Judge’s Stock
- Other Barks & Bites for Friday, June 24: Congressional Hearings Focus on PTAB Reforms, French Regulators Accept Google’s Copyright Payment Framework, and DOJ Announces Settlement with Meta Over Biased Ad Algorithm
- Sotera Declarations Less Likely Given Vidal Memo on PTAB Discretion