CADEX Retains Production and Sales Rights to its Strike Dual Rifle Chassis
OutdoorHub 05.17.13
CADEX Inc. (CADEX Defence, Inc.) and Ashbury InternationalGroup, Inc. recently settled a nearly 18-month legal battle concerning modular sniper rifle stock designelements. Following the May 2 settlement, CADEX retains the production and sales rights to its existingStrike Dual Rifle Chassis design and will continue manufacturing and selling the dual rail rifle chassissystem in the United States and globally.
CADEX announces the end to a patent infringement suit brought by Ashbury, who alleged that the earliergeneration single rail CADEX Strike rifle chassis had infringed an Ashbury patent. CADEX ceasedproduction of its single rail rifle chassis in mid 2012 when CADEX unveiled the Strike Dual RifleChassis design. During the litigation and settlement agreement between the two parties, Ashburyacknowledged that CADEX’s current Strike Dual Rifle Chassis design does not infringe the U.S.patent rights Ashbury holds on its single rail design. In the settlement agreement, Ashbury also agreedthat CADEX will not be required to pay Ashbury any royalty or other license fees for CADEX’scontinued manufacture and sale of its Strike Dual Rifle Chassis System and further agreed that CADEX’sdistributors will not be required to pay any royalty or license fees related to such sales.
“CADEX intended to fight this case until realizing that there was a superior design – the CADEX StrikeDual Rifle Chassis – and that it was not infringing technology. Once CADEX realized having a superiortechnology, that clearly did not infringe the Ashbury patent, CADEX had to make the best businessdecision as to how to settle the lawsuit”, said CADEX CEO Serge Dextraze. “CADEX’s priority was tomake sure that CADEX can continue to move forward with its Strike Dual Rifle Chassis product line inthe United States and globally, and CADEX has accomplished this goal. CADEX’s second priority wasto settle the lawsuit over technology, which had become irrelevant to CADEX’s product line, andCADEX was able to do that inexpensively. It is already well known that the CADEX Strike Dual RifleChassis is the best product ever shown and offered on the market. With its mitigation capabilities recoiland its attractive and unique style, we are not surprised the CADEX Strike Dual Rifle Chassis attracts thatmuch attention. The CADEX Strike Dual Rifle Chassis is the most unique high end product everproduced and available on the market.”
As a condition for settlement, Ashbury insisted that CADEX consent to a final judgment stating thatAshbury’s U.S. patent rights on the single rail design are valid and that CADEX’s older single rail chassisdesign infringed these U.S. patent claims. To entice CADEX’s consent to the judgment, Ashbury offeredto settle for a single payment of $50,000 rather its previous demand of $325,000. The wording of thefinal judgment was carefully tailored to make it clear that only the CADEX Strike single rail design wascapable of infringing Ashbury’s U.S. patent, which requires a single, unified or monolithic rail across thetop of the chassis which is not the case with the CADEX Strike Dual Rifle Chassis.
“The average patent case costs in excess of a million dollars to resolve through trial, making thesenuisance value settlements attractive. To be clear, there was no trial or court hearing on the merits of anyone’s claims in this case. The resolution was entered into voluntarily. Happily and a great relief foreveryone, it is now clearly established that CADEX has and keeps all his patents rights for the CADEXStrike Dual Rifle Chassis product line”, said Steven G. Hill of Hill, Kertscher & Wharton, LLP, whoacted as lead counsel for CADEX during the case.
As of today, CADEX proclaims that both CADEX and its distributors will no longer be distracted by thenow-settled litigation and instead may concentrate on the manufacture and sale of CADEX Strike DualRifle Chassis system. CADEX has designed and manufactured various chassis style stocks since 2005,which have been and continue to be used by multiple military and law enforcement agencies. Many ofCADEX’s early generation design elements were also chosen for incorporation into the current US ArmyXM 2010 sniper weapon system.
CADEX’s current Strike Dual Rifle Chassis design features major enhancements that provide operators asolid, accurate chassis-type firing system that requires no tools to adjust the stock for length and combheight. The CADEX Strike Dual Rifle Chassis also features a unique ability to be disassembled foroperator-level field maintenance. The keys to this capability are a two-piece top rail and a removablelower frame with magazine well: these advancements simplify disassembly without the need to removeeither the rifle action from the chassis, the day sight or rear portion of the receiver rail. Since introducingits first sniper rifle chassis system, CADEX continues to develop improvements and innovative state-of-the-art rifle chassis designs. These are and will continue to be exemplified by the current CADEX StrikeDual Rifle Chassis.
