Scent Lok Patent - Rejected

[T.R. Michels]

On 9/13/07 the United States Patent Office posted a "Final Rejection Mailed" notice on their web site for Patent # 90007331, which WAS the "double patented" application of Scent Lok for activated carbon clothing for use while hunting. It is illegal to patent something that has already been patented.
 
I, along with three other people, have fought hard to get this application over-turned. I did this because I believed these companies were either wrongfully sued by Scent Lok, because their products did not infringe on the "supposed" (now rejected) patent application of Scent Lok, because Scent Lok may have stopped sales of other scent control clothing to stores in some way, and because at least one company did not come out with scent control clothing (because they were afraid of being sued by Scent Lok - even though their product did not contain activated carbon and did not infringe on Scent Lok's non-patent.
 
What does this "Patent rejection" mean for those companies who have been paying royalties to Scent Lok, or for those companies who have an agreement with Scent Lok, or for those companies who have been bankrupted by Scent Lok for infringing on the now rejected patent application of Scent Lok? It may mean that Scent Lok's demand for royalties for the past 16 years was never enforceable.

The consequences now - who knows? Maybe new technology, with lower clothing prices, for you hunters. It could also lead to law suits ... come back for "soon to be released" updates.