<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"\"&lt;p&gt;A federal court has upheld a previous ruling by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, declaring Stan\\u2019s NoTubes\\u2019 U.S. Patent Number 7,334,846 to be valid. The patent protects technology used in Stan&amp;#8217;s rims ZTR rims, sales of which exceeded 350,000 between 2004 and 2011.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The decision represents a win for Stan&amp;#8217;s in a drawn-out court battle with Specialized. The fight goes back to 2008, when Stan&amp;#8217;s sued Specialized, alleging that the California brand&amp;#8217;s 2008 Control Rims had infringed on U.S. Patent Number &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.google.com\\/patents\\/US7334846\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;7,334,846&lt;\\/a&gt;. The rim described in the patent features shorter sidewalls, which are claimed to reduce the frequency of pinch flats while allowing the use of lower pressures and increasing the tire&amp;#8217;s contact patch. The patent also describes the elimination of the conventional bead lock for a hooked shape which better matches the shape of the tire bead, creating a tighter air seal and reducing stress on the tire. Finally, the humped trough, as described by Stan&amp;#8217;s, increases strength and stiffness while easing tubeless mounting.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_114548\\\" style=\\\"width: 640px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignleft\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-640x386.png\\\" alt=\\\"A diagram illustrating the patented features of Stan&amp;#039;s ZTR rim: a humped trough, shorter sidewalls and the  absence of a conventional bead lock.\\\" width=\\\"640\\\" height=\\\"386\\\" class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-114548\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-640x386.png 640w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-149x90.png 149w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-100x60.png 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-200x121.png 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-160x97.png 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-320x193.png 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-480x290.png 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM-660x398.png 660w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/02\\/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-1.27.24-PM.png 877w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;A diagram illustrating the patented features of Stan&amp;#8217;s Notubes&amp;#8217; ZTR rim: a humped trough, shorter sidewalls and the  absence of a conventional bead lock.&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Specialized won the first round in this federal dispute with Stan&amp;#8217;s in 2012, when the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences ruled in favor of the &amp;#8220;Big S&amp;#8221; on the basis of the company&amp;#8217;s argument that Shimano patents granted in 2003 and 2006 invalidated Stan&amp;#8217;s NoTubes&amp;#8217; patent. The court noted at that time that its decision could be appealed. Stan&amp;#8217;s filed a request to reopen that case soon after, and Specialized&amp;#8217;s claim of invalidity was rejected in November of 2014, resulting in a civil settlement in which Specialized paid out $75,000 to Stan&amp;#8217;s as compensation for legal fees, but did not admit liability.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;In March of 2015, Specialized filed another appeal in the Federal Circuit, this time contending the 2014 rejection of their invalidity claim. A decision in that case was issued last Thursday in favor of Stan&amp;#8217;s. Evidence of the success of Stan\\u2019s ZTR rims as well as praise for their patented features may have helped demonstrate that the claims of the \\u2019846 patent are valid. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cWe are pleased to have reached a positive conclusion regarding our rim design patent. The court\\u2019s decision further strengthens our patent portfolio,\\u201d said Stan\\u2019s NoTubes co-owners Stan and Cindy Koziatek. \\u201cWe look forward to continuing the advancement of tubeless wheels for all cycling applications.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.bikemag.com/news/stans-notubes-wins-patent-battle-against-specialized/>