Elaut Filed Lawsuit Against S&B Entertainment

Elaut Filed Lawsuit Against S&B Entertainment

Elaut NV, and its exclusive U.S. licensee and distributor Elaut USA Inc., have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against S&B Entertainment Inc. (S&B Candy & Toy), its sales affiliate St. Louis Game Co., and Tommy Bear Co., Ltd. - the Taiwanese manufacturer of S&B arcade game machines.

Elaut is alleging that certain S&B machines manufactured by Tommy Bear and sold by St. Louis Game Co., infringe Elaut's patent that covers Elaut's color-changing LED light system. A second suit was filed in the same court alleging unfair competition from S&B's Lucky Ducky crane, which Elaut claims violates Elaut's intellectual property rights in its Plucky Ducky trademark used on Elaut games for more than two years.

Eric Veerstraeten, Managing Director of Elaut NV, said that Elaut "has invested millions in research and product development" and "has also invested considerable resources to protect its intellectual property by acquiring utility and design patents to protect our inventions and by registering our valuable trademarks in the U.S. and Europe." Glenn Kramer, CEO of Elaut USA, said the company's intellectual property rights must be respected, adding, "We are actively surveying the market for other infringements and will not hesitate to file additional suits to protect Elaut's rights, if necessary."

S&B responded: "For two-and-a-half decades, S&B and its game division, St. Louis Game Co., have been developing new and innovative, high quality cranes and amusement games. S&B Founder/President Brian Riggles has been awarded both utility and design patents for his game innovations. As a result, S&B has full respect for the intellectual property of other manufacturers. In 25 years in the industry, S&B has never been involved in an intellectual property lawsuit."

S&B said that days before the IAAPA Expo in 2014, Elaut pointed out that S&B's new Tommy Bear cranes were using lights similar to LEDs described in Elaut's U. S. Patent #8,251,369.. S&B contends the products did not infringe upon any of Elaut's intellectual property, but that out of respect S&B ceased production with Tommy Bear and imported no more of the cranes in question after September 2014.

Marty Luepker, Product Manager for S&B, said, "I was completely puzzled when we received notice of a lawsuit with Elaut. I had discussed the Tommy Bear cranes with Glenn Kramer, and offered to purchase the rights for the use of their LED design on future cranes." S&B only made a handful of the Lucky Ducky Derby game and now have a dozen new crane designs ready to ship. S&B's crane concept, Prize Express, received an Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) Innovator of the Year Award in 2015.

We hope the companies can come to an amicable resolution in this matter. More updates on this story to come as they become available.