On Jan. 29, St. Louis-based U.S. Ring Binder L.P. received a unanimous federal jury verdict that declared invalid two patents held by China-based World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

“We are grateful to the jury for its verdict,” says Bob Premnath, president and chief executive officer of US Ring. “World Wide Stationery’s abuse of the U.S. patent system was soundly rejected. This case is not only a victory for U.S. Ring, but for the entire industry, which has been strangled by a classic case of market domination using among other methods, exploitation of the weaknesses in the U.S. patent system.”

U.S. Ring, the defendant, was sued by World Wide Stationery for patent infringement involving U.S. Ring’s Insta-Clik mechanism, which is used in three-ring binders. U.S. Ring is a global supplier and claims to be World Wide Stationery’s last remaining competitor.

Since 1913, U.S. Ring has continuously manufactured ring metals at its plant in the City of St. Louis. In 2008, World Wide Stationery began sending letters claiming patent infringement to companies that purchased Insta-Clik binders. By 2009, Insta-Clik binder sales had fallen by 90 percent from the previous year. In the civil suit, World Wide Stationery alleged that the Insta-Clik infringed two United States patents.After a two-week trial, the jury concluded that World Wide Stationery’s patents were invalid because they did not cover a new invention.