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Sup’Air responds to Ultimate Air – Official Statement
We received the following statement from Sup’Air regarding Ultimate Air patent. Lots of interesting details inside, read on for the latest.
“For over 5 days now, we have seen a lot of defamation and misleading claims all over the internet about Sup’AirBall and its parent company Adrenaline Games USA, and we want to set the record straight. We are the only inflatable paintball bunker manufacturer to attend over 15 major events per year. Over 20 leagues around the world have used our products for more than a decade and will continue to do so in 2010 and beyond.
Who we are
Sup’AirBall is the inventor of the inflatable paintball bunkers as you know them today, tubeless, stand alone, airtight. It was introduced first at the 7Man World Cup, in Toulouse, France, then at the World Cup in Orlando, Florida, in 1997, 3 years before Ultimate Airball® even existed. This is a fact, undeniable, and well documented:
APG magazine, from march 1998, page 71.
The World Cup 1997 report. There is a picture of stand-alone Sup’AirBall bunkers and this text from Bill MILLS, writing the article: (Link to scan of article)
“Each year the National Professional Paintball League World Cup brings players from around the globe to see who comes out on top. Not only is the competition intense, but it is also the stage for unveiling of many new products and a meeting place for members of the paintball industry. 1997 was no exception, with new paintguns, sights, loaders, and even new fields.
Last year saw the American debut of Hyperball, an arena style paintball field with rounded pipe bunkers imported to the US by Brass Eagle. This year, Hyperball was back, accompanied by SupAir Ball. (…)”
PGI Magazine, July 1998, page 79.
Advertising from Extreme Rage, of Fort Myers, FL, showcasing a Sup’AirBall field, tubeless. Extreme Rage was at that time the official distributor of Sup’Air Ball.
PGI Magazine, page 31 and 33, as part of the Report on the 1997 World Cup.
Multiple pictures of Sup’AirBall bunkers, tubeless.
Warpig.com, Report of the 1997 World Cup.
Multiple pictures of Sup’AirBall bunkers, tubeless.
Adrenaline Games, more than meets the eyes
Adrenaline Games is not just Sup’AirBall, the standard of the industry for more than a decade.
We are also:
- FaceFull, the reference in Paintball magazines
- The Tontons, one of the 5 oldest teams still playing today (among the Ironmen, All Americans, Bushwhackers and Mayem Tigers)
- The Millennium Series, the major European League
We are players- pro players, recreational players, scenario players. We play speedball and we play in the woods.
Paintball is our passion and we are involved in more than one project. We love paintball and are passionate people. This is why we are involved in making the paintball fields of tomorrow. We have invented the 7man format, among others. Our Tournament Series never went bankrupt and it does not owe money to anybody.
Craig Miller made several false and misleading claims that we would like to address:
If you want to be correct, Adrenaline Games USA is a corporation based out of Pennsylvania and therefore not a foreign competitor. But let’s skip that part and go to the facts: No one was fired from Adrenaline Games USA in 2009 or in 2010, as Craig claims.
Sup’AirBall does not manufacture in the USA but does have more Americans on its payroll than Ultimate Airball®.
I do agree with him on 1 single point: “slow down and see who has done what to whom”.
Craig Miller made false accusations (being the first to make tubeless bunkers among other things) and has slandered Sup’AirBall products.
He contacted several paintball leagues and tried to “persuade” them not to use Sup’AirBall products anymore.
Sup’AirBall bunkers were made exclusively in Morocco until 2007. Sup’AirBall does manufacture a few of its 80+ references in China, which brought the cost down for our customers.
We succeeded in dropping the price of what was the NXL (now Pro field from the PSP) by 25% between 2006 and 2010. Which one of your bills dropped by more than 25% in the last 4 years?
We are disgusted by comments made by Craig Miller in his interview on the Ford Report.
Sup’AirBall is the only bunker manufacturer to donate products each year to charity events, such as Lauren’s Hope Foundation (www.laurenshope.org), as well as Church groups. We even received thanks from Troops in Iraq for products give away.
Today Adrenaline Games supports leagues all around the world financially and logistically. We do more than selling bunkers. If Sup’AirBall stops all that support, do you think the extra burden won’t affect the price and quality of play at tournaments?
In addition, we want to re-assure our customers that 2010 will be another step forward for us in bringing you the most efficient, durable, and professional products possible, a task we started on over 18 years ago. We stand behind our product and are always here to take your calls from our beautiful new office- (724) 537-5834. We have a great outlook for 2010 and the thousands of field owners we work with. You can reach us every day at our office or you can directly call our sales representatives. Our phones are here at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and sales reps frequently take calls on weekends.
We appreciate you taking the time to read our response and are confident that you will see where the evil really is.” – Sup’Air
This article was authored by Justin – who has written 876 paintball news and gear articles.
Justin was introduced to the game of paintball in ’96. Since then, he has been actively involved in promoting and playing in recreational and tournament paintball.
20 Comments
they didnt even address the fact that ultimate air had the patents….. it doesnt matter if you were 1st.. they patented it
Well you clearly know nothing about patent law. The wonderful thing about the United States is that we are a first to invent not first to file country.
That means the INVENTOR owns the rights, not the FILER. Everything sup-air claimed is citing prior-art.
While they may never be able to own a patent on their designs, they can certainly prove that Ultimate Air shouldn’t either.
This is why many people (like myself) do not file patents, but instead keep an inventors notebook and well documented research on important inventions, because one day some asshole will come along and patent your idea as theirs and try to profit.
You’re not much of an inventor if you don’t know about assignees. Inventors are great, but the assignee owns it.
Notebooks rarely mean anything in court, nor do the “poor man’s patents” that everyone likes to romanticize about.
Patent invalidity suite are expensive–usually cheaper to license (even if it’s a bullshit patent). Ask KEE about this…they know.
Yeah. I have family members that have sold patents, and they make none of the money from their inventions. The filer, not the inventor, gets the money. If you say otherwise, you only pretend to understand America’s patent laws.
well i stand by my first post. if Sup air goes. im selling my gear! and starting a bowling team!
LEGIT IDEA (about the bowling team =D)
It does matter if Sup’Air had it first. Given the dates that the Sup’Air bunkers were commercially available, the Ultimate Air patent should be indefensible. The PTO examiner should have researched the field better before granting the patent — clearly an oversight on his / her part if they approved the patent with a commercial offering already in place that did the same thing. You can’t just arbitrarily patent something that exists.
The pictures don’t prove anything other than a stand alone bunker was in use in 1997. The Ultimate Air patent is not for a stand alone bunker, the patent is for a stand alone bunker with specific features. Did Sup Air sell a product with the features in the Ultimate Air patent in 1997?
What about putting the Ultimate Air patent number on the Sup Air bunkers?
Most of the Sup Air press release was about “We are a bigger company with more market share” than anything else.
Truth.
Looks to me like another compagny that quickly files a patent on a product that has been around since 1997… Easy way to make money ? Anyway since UA has still filled no claim,( and i doubt they will ) we will see what will happen next..
as far as i am concerned sup’air wins the match.. ( but maybe looses the game )
Well, Sup’Air will find a way around it. If all else fails, they’ll probably purchase the patent for a set fee and go on successfully, just like they have been until now.
It all really comes down to money. Does UA have the cash to defend their patent against Sup’ Air? Looking at their history, I don’t think so.
Actually the question is does Adrenaline Games USA. In a case like this the defendant (Sup) has the burden. UA presents the patent and some Sup’ Air bunkers as evidence of a patent infringement. Sup’ Air has to prove that it is not. While Sup’ Air would likely win the case, both parties lose and the lawyers win. Federal cases are insanely expensive to try.
As was mentioned above, it will likely be settled by Adrenaline buying the patent or cutting a license deal because it is cheaper.
Its very simple UA sucks we all know this. The bunkers fall apart in just a few months. Its funny they are trying this crap as they know it would be the only way for someone ever buy their crap product. A BIG F U 2 UA
Actually, Sup’Air were not the first to introduce tubeless bunkers. Team Nemesis of Florida and myself had a bunch made in 1996 to test the concept of the use of tubeless bunkers.
As a “court filing” issue, the above is pretty useless; we discussed the idea of applying for a patent but decided that it was pointless to try for a patent for a “giant balloon”, and our focus was elsewhere.
The RF method of welding the vinyl was a bitch; fully one-third of our test product developed seam leaks almost out of the box. We developed methods of retention (water inside works but is not recommended, fyi).
We developed our out of dissatisfaction with the Sup’Air forced air system (if any of you remember that); we thought it was ridiculous that people should be asked to compete on a field where there were special places they couldn’t walk.
A couple of years later, Milt Call of Ultimate contacted me at an Amateur Open event to pitch his new product – he’d heard that I had a format and an event that would showcase the strength and durability of his product. We worked out a deal and used his bunkers at PaintFest 2000, where they were subjected to harsher treatment than any event before or since has put bunkers through.
I believe the UA patent is for a retention system (haven’t looked at it recently), not for making inflatables. I’ve got some decent ideas for alternate retention systems – but mostly I just wish that folks would stop having IP fights over stuff like this and somehow learn to work out decent working arrangements outside both the court and the court of public opinion. All this kind of bickering in public does is bring out the partisans and makes everyone else uncomfortable with BOTH companies. Stop screaming at each other on the street corner dammit, look at how much you’d both lose in a court fight, recognize that neither is going to leave the industry and work something out.
There are many missing details that should probably not be aired on a public forum, and Steve was right in saying that Forums are not the best place for this case to be tried.
In answer to some of the remaining questions for which many people have sought answers:
The ORIGINAL Ultimate Airball Patent filing was [I]years before [/I]2005, but final Patent Documents traditionally do not disclose the original Patent filing dates. Therefore, that information is not shown in our final Patent, or any others.
The U.S. Patent Office conducted very careful research for several years, and completed an exhaustive investigation into prior art before granting this very broad Patent to the owners of Ultimate Airball, which went through the entire approval process “clean”, (meaning entirely unchallenged by our competitor) who was fully aware of our product’s “Patent Applied For” status for years in advance of its approval.
Adrenaline Games did indeed invent the original inflatable bunkers, which launched a whole new era of tournament Paintball, and they received their own patent for their fan powered, tube-manifold system.
Regarding their response, it is our understanding that some of their current staff were not employed there at the time. During my decade with Procaps/Draxxus, I have known and liked several of their staffers in their roles with FaceFull magazine and Sup’Air. However, regarding their online comments about their products from the 1990’s, the DETAILS in our many Patent claims include important distinctions which their company never offered in combination previous to our invention. This is where their “prior art” assertions fall short of being effective, which explains why our unique tubeless system received its legal Patent after such careful and protracted scrutiny by the U.S. Patent office.
Of course, the confidential Business Agreements that were signed last year by both parties in Washington DC do not appear in the Patent. When we amicably entered into those agreements, we were 100% hopeful that they would honor the agreements, as we did. In fact, we still hope for an amicable solution. We acted in good faith. Contrary to their employee’s accusations, we have made zero attempts to stop anybody’s business, production, or tournaments, and that is still the case. It has actually been our unexercised Legal right to choose a much harsher path via Cease and Desist orders and such actions, but we have never opted to use that heavy-handed approach.
Instead, we have always sought agreement, so that we could peacefully coexist. Comments to the contrary are works of fiction that began on a web forum, and even more fiction was spawned on this site. But remember, we are not the ones who brought this debate to the forums, and we agree with several posters who feel this is not the place for it. We have been very surprised at the popularity of this subject, receiving well over 11,000 views – certainly the best publicity we have ever had, with dozens and dozens of experienced Field Operators and Field employees setting the record straight whenever fiction steered the story off course.
Throughout this viral thread, we were very careful – as always – NOT to slander anyone, despite our competitor’s accusations to the contrary. To point out that someone is French or German or English or American is not slander. To factually identify that someone manufactures their products offshore is not slander. “Slander” is making baseless derogatory remarks and using foul language and unfounded insults, and this was indeed done regularly in these threads, primarily by our competitor’s supporters, so these accusations are totally absurd and without any basis. Unfortunately, many people – but not all – who posted on their behalf did indeed take that low road. Perhaps these were not our competitor’s actual staff, but the pattern was immensely obvious, and that is unfortunate.
Regarding their allegation that we included misinformation about their firing of staffers, I must point out that subsequent to their reneging on our agreements, the competitor communicated to us that they had let a considerable number of staffers go due to financial constraints from a down market. This was stated as a primary justification for why they could not honor our legal agreements. So, this startling new and totally conflicting assertion that they never let ANY staffers go brings new and very interesting financial discoveries to the discussion. They alleged that WE were misleading on this firing subject, when in fact, we have now received both of these totally contrary reports directly from them. We believed them when they said they fired almost everybody, and now we much more happily believe them when they say that they didn’t fire ANYBODY. With great excitement, we very gladly stand corrected on this point.
Legally, our competitor’s public acknowledgement of our Patent speaks volumes. Still, despite the Legal gravity of that action, and the fact that it intensely tips the Legal scales in our favor, we still remain hopeful and open for an amicable solution that will enable us to coexist.
Let’s ALL have a much better 2009…
Craig
Your improper terminology in calling this gift to paintball media a “forum” therefore caused me to see the remainder of your babbling as blah blah blah. 2010 will be great once you realize its time to do what your old paintball team “Brimstone Smoke” did – quit life. We don’t like you; you are bad for paintball and always have been. Go back to the Ford report and preach to the choir in hopes someone with a third grade intellect cares to jeopardize their intelligence by following your lead.
Your track record speaks for itself, we already know, the Pope’s a Catholic. So what’s your next power play Craig? Stealing kids lunch money and threatening the playground supervisor if they say anything?
Better still, let’s ALL have a much better 2010!
Craig,
Do you ever remember Steve Davidson and his league?. I had his bunkers made right here in Wichita, Ks at Weckworth & Langdon. I know for a fact they were tubless and I believe had tie downs attached per request. I dont remember the date but I believe it was sometime between 1997 & 1998. I will have to call Travis at W &L and see if they still have the blue prints on their welded bunkers.
i still love paintball