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The firearms industry is certainly not one unfamiliar with the occasional lawsuit. A good deal of proprietary information goes into gun design and production, so most companies are understandably protective of their patents and other intellectual property. From time to time, this can lead manufacturers of firearms and accessories to sue each other over infringements on their protected work. Some examples (among many others) of previous lawsuits upon which TFB has reported are below.
More @ TFB:
- Glock Prevails in Lawsuit After More Than Six Years
- Holosun and Trijicon Announce Lawsuit Settlement
- Trijicon Fires Back Re: Lawsuit Settlement with Holosun
- Century Arms Wins Motion To Dismiss In XTech Tactical Lawsuit
- LAWSUIT: Gemtech Files Against Smith & Wesson In Federal Court
- Racketeering Lawsuit from Helga Glock v. Gaston Glock Dismissed in USA
- Sharps Rifle Company Loses Lawsuit Against Founder
SIG has highlighted a healthy magazine capacity in an easily-concealable form factor as one of their P365 series’ major benefits – as has Springfield with their Hellcats, the subject of SIG’s lawsuit.
Now we can add one more case to the industry’s litigation pile. On May 11th, 2021, SIG SAUER issued the following press release announcing that they are suing Springfield over alleged magazine patent issues between the P365 series and Springfield’s Hellcat pistols. These two handgun designs are close competitors, occupying largely the same space in the market. One of the main attractants for each manufacturer’s guns is that they provide generally higher capacity than that which is commonly available in the compact or sub-compact concealed carry world, and having more rounds is certainly a good thing. SIG‘s official announcement reads as follows.
Even with the P365XL’s extended 15-round mags, as shown here, the complete package still remains excellently concealed-carry friendly, of which SIG is proud.
SIG SAUER, Inc. Files P365 Magazine Patent Infringement Case Against Springfield, Inc.
NEWINGTON, N.H., (May 11, 2021) – Today, SIG SAUER, Inc., filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division, alleging that Springfield, Inc. (Springfield Armory) infringes two SIG patents relating to SIG’s P365 magazine.
The P365 has seen tremendous commercial success, due to the innovative design of the high-capacity magazine. In its complaint, SIG alleges that Springfield Armory’s making and selling of certain “Hellcat” branded magazines infringes upon two SIG patents. SIG SAUER is seeking injunctive relief, as well as monetary damages for Springfield Armory’s past and ongoing infringement.
Ron Cohen, President, and Chief Executive Officer, made the following statement:
“When the SIG SAUER P365 was introduced it took the market by storm as the most innovative high-capacity, micro-compact pistol to be introduced due to its magazine capacity, and quickly became one of the top-selling handguns in the market due to this unprecedented innovation. SIG is not a litigious company, but given the extent of infringement by Springfield, SIG has a responsibility to protect both our intellectual property and the significant investment we make to develop our innovative products. As a company, we are proud to yield more than 100 patents worldwide, with more than 40 patent applications currently pending, and we will protect the extensive research and design that goes into developing these patents rigorously.
