A federal district court in Delaware ruled in favor of f’real Foods by finding three of f’real’s self-cleaning blender patents were infringed upon by defendants, Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. and Hershey Creamery Company.
The jury awarded f’real $3.2 million in compensatory patent damages. Four previous attempts by Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. to invalidate f’real’s self-cleaning blender patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office were also unsuccessful.
f’real, a designer, maker and marketer of blended frozen beverages across the U.S. and Canada, launched its self-cleaning blender in 2003, providing consumers with the ability to quickly prepare their own milkshakes and smoothies, while offering operators the convenience of automatic sanitization.
Since its inception, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company 16 U.S. patents for its innovative self-serve blender technologies. Today, f’real’s products are sold at more than 19,000 locations across the United States and Canada, including convenience stores, colleges, universities and military bases.
“f’real’s invention of the self-cleaning blender created the self-serve milkshake market we know today,” said Dinsh Guzdar, president of f’real. “The jury’s verdict re-affirms the validity and strength of f’real’s patents. f’real and Rich’s take intellectual property seriously and we will vigorously enforce our IP and protect our patents from any future infringement.”