Country for PR: China
Contributor: PR Newswire Asia (China)
Thursday, October 08 2020 - 23:00
AsiaNet
Choirock Mecard's Complete Victory in All Global Patent Disputes against Spin Master
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

The toy brand Mecard, which is developed with proprietary technology owned by 
Korean toy company Choirock Contents Factory Co., Ltd., won a complete victory 
in all of the global patent disputes against Spin Master, Ltd., a Canadian 
global toy company.

Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20201007/2942563-1LOGO

In 2018, Spin Master sued a US toy company, Mattel, Inc., in the United States, 
Canada, Australia, etc., alleging that Mecard toys infringed Spin Master's 
"Bakugan" patents. Mattel was distributing Mecard toys in those countries 
through its license obtained from Choirock. But Mecard's entrance into the 
global market have been obstructed by Spin Master's lawsuits.  

In March 2019, in response to Spin Master's lawsuits, Choirock filed inter 
partes review petitions before the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board 
(PTAB), challenging validity of Spin Master's three US "Bakugan" patents. Spin 
Master alleged that Mecard infringed these three patents. In September 2020, 
the PTAB ruled that all of the challenged claims of each "Bakugan" patent are 
unpatentable. It is very rare for the PTAB to invalidate all of the challenged 
claims of multiple family patents as it did in this instance. By confirming 
that Spin Master's "Bakugan" patents lack patentability because they are 
nothing more than previously developed or known toy technologies, these rulings 
provided a complete victory to Choirock.

Prior to these rulings, an Italian Court (EU) and the Supreme Court of China 
also ruled that Spin Master's EU patent is unpatentable and that "Mecard" toys 
do not infringe Spin Master's Chinese patent, respectively. In particular, the 
Milano Court of Italy held that core claims of Spin Master's EU patent that 
resemble those used by Spin Master in other litigations were unpatentable. 
Likewise, Choirock won a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Spin Master in 
the Supreme Court of China. This victory in China confirmed that the "Mecard" 
patents have their own originality and creativity completely different from 
those of the "Bakugan" patents. Accordingly, Choirock has successfully cleared 
away all of the obstacles relating to Spin Master's "Bakugan" patents in its 
global business for the "Mecard" toys.  The "Mecard" toys employ an unique 
mechanism that transforms a toy by lifting up a card whereby the bottom surface 
of the card is exposed.  This mechanism is the first of its kind in the world. 

Choirock owns intellectual property rights associated with the "Mecard" toys. 
Choirock announced that "based on our victory in the Spin Master disputes, 
which had obstructed the company's business, the company will meet and discuss 
with various partners around the world to accelerate re-launch of the Mecard in 
the global market. Choirock stated that "the company will continue to 
strengthen its patents for the Mecard toys with respect to their unique 
mechanism of exposing the bottom surface of a card when transforming." Choirock 
further stated that "like the Spin Master disputes, the company will take 
strong measures against any undue or wrongful assertion of infringement against 
Choirock and will actively protect its own IP." 

About Choirock

Choirock Contents Factory Co., Ltd. is Korea's leading content creator and 
provider. Choirock is highly specialized in planning and development for toys, 
animations, and licensing business and dedicated to the creation of unique and 
innovative contents such as Turning Mecard(R), Dino Mecard(R), Ghost Mecard(R), 
Bbasha Mecard(R), Hello Carbot(R), Hello Carbot Koong(R), Hello Carbot Mini(R), 
SofyRuby(R), My Friend Koriri(R), Bite Choicar(R) among many others. Choirock 
is committed to provide 'Delight To Play' for children and families. Visit us 
online at www.choirockcf.com.

SOURCE:  Choirock Contents Factory Co., Ltd.
Translations

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