BlendTec Wins Largest Patent Infringement Case in Utah History
Viral marketing stars BlendTec of “Will it Blend” fame just won a monumental case. The Orem-base company spent 4 years fighting a case from Vita-Mix. Their victory is the largest patent infringement case in Utah history. Companies like Maverik, Nestle, Ocean Spray and 7-11 use their blenders.
According to a story in the Deseret News this past June, BlendTec won the case for $11 million in federal district court. The jury confirmed that the blender was “considered a direct copy.” What’s most surprising is that they had an actual email from Vita-Mix saying that they planned to copy BlendTec.
I’m at Wordcamp Utah and heard BlendTec owner Tom Dickson speak about the case. He’s the famous “mad scientist” in all the videos. He blends everything from glow sticks to broom handles. Dickson is also the engineer who designed the 5-sided blender. His design is key to helping pull the contents of the blender to the blade.
Apparently Vita-Mix isn’t the only one to copy the blender design. The company wants to send a strong message to copycats. They plan to ask the judge in the case to triple the payout to over $30 million.
This is a huge victory for BlendTec and for Utah. BlendTec is a hero for marketers – their videos are #67 in the all time most subscribed to videos on YouTube. Their starting marketing budget of $50 and a few videos that went viral put this Utah company on the map. Now they’ve shown they can hold their own against bigger more well-known competitors.
Related post by Janet Thaeler
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