Feb. 22--Back in the dark ages of the mid-2000s, fast food customers lacked a viable way to dip their fries in ketchup while driving. Some condiment holders allowed for dipping, but not squeezing. One could dip or squeeze, but not both.
"From Scott White's frustration was born a flash of inspiration," according to a patent infringement lawsuit filed in 2012 by Chicago inventor Scott White against H.J. Heinz Co.
White's invention, the CondiCup, was intended to lead a condiment revolution of sorts, but was subsequently ripped off, White's lawsuit claimed, by Heinz, which has since merged to form Kraft Heinz. In its defense, Heinz requested that White's patent be re-examined by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and that the case be put on hold pending the patent decision.
Certain claims of White's patent were declared "unpatentable as anticipated or obvious" in that re-examination. White appealed the decision. And on Friday, he suffered another major setback when federal judges affirmed the patent office's decision to cancel the patent.
"I was stunned, quite frankly," White, 50, said Monday. "It's a bump in the road, but I'm not done fighting this fight."
White, whose day job is director of risk management for the Chicago Housing Authority, said he and his attorneys are mulling their legal options. White could ask for a rehearing from the federal circuit court or could petition the Supreme Court for a hearing, said Keith Grady, White's attorney.
"We are pleased with the decision as we have always maintained this case was groundless and without merit," said Kraft Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen in a statement.
White's "flash of genius," according to the 2012 lawsuit, occurred more than 10 years ago when he invented a condiment cup that would allow fast-food customers to either conveniently dip their fries on the go or squeeze the ketchup out. It was designed to fit into car cup holders.
After securing a patent for his CondiCup invention in 2005, White pitched his idea to Heinz. The ketchup giant "cut him out" before launching its "identical" packets, called the "Dip Squeeze," in 2010, according to White's lawsuit.
In 2006, White quit his full-time risk management job to bring his CondiCup idea to fruition. He worked various consulting jobs on the side before taking a risk management job at the Chicago Housing Authority in 2011 in order to make ends meet.
White said he had other ideas for inventions, but the CondiCup was his only patent. On Monday, he was clearly frustrated, saying Kraft Heinz is "crushing" his intellectual property.
"This was my life's work," White said.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
