EMERYVILLE, Calif. – On November 30, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected a challenge to the validity of f’real Foods Inc.’s U.S. Patent No. 7,520,658 (‘658) by Hamilton Beach Brands Inc.

On October 3, 2014, f’real filed a patent enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to stop Hamilton Beach and its partner, Hershey Creamery Company, from continuing to copy the self-cleaning blender inventions described in f’real’s ‘658 patent. Hamilton Beach responded by petitioning the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to re-examine the validity of this patent.

The November 30 decision rejected Hamilton Beach’s patent invalidity arguments, denied Hamilton Beach’s request for institution of an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding and reaffirmed the validity of f’real’s ‘658 patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also agreed with f’real’s interpretation of the ‘658 patent for purposes of proving infringement by Hamilton Beach and Hershey Creamery.

As a result of this decision, f’real plans to vigorously move forward with its efforts in Delaware District Court to stop Hamilton Beach and Hershey from continuing to infringe f’real’s patent rights and is seeking a permanent injunction and asking the court to order a recall of all infringing blenders.

Dinsh Guzdar, president of f’real, said, “This decision is a critical step toward our assertion of f’real’s proprietary technology. We take patent infringement very seriously and we will continue to protect our patent rights. f’real looks forward to continued innovation and growth as the top novelty product in convenience stores.”

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded f’real 15 U.S. patents for its self-serve blender technologies.