Bradenton ammunition maker wins $15M in patent suit
BRADENTON -- A Bradenton manufacturer of lead-free ammunition has won more than $15 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against the federal government.
Liberty Ammunition filed suit against the Department of Defense in 2011, claiming that the Department of the Army used Liberty's trade secrets to produce "enhanced performance rounds" for military rifles that were nearly identical to a bullet Liberty patented. The Army has been using lead-free bullets for several years produced by other manufacturers working under military contract.
U.S. Federal Court of Claims Judge Charles F. Lettow filed a decision Dec. 19 in which he found the federal government had infringed on Liberty's patent for its copper-core, steel-tipped ammunition. Lettow ordered the government to pay two levels of damages, the first being a $15.6 million lump payment. The government
was also ordered to pay a 1.4-cent royalty on every bullet it purchases and receives for use. It will make those payments until Liberty's patent expires in 2027.
Founded by Manatee County resident and inventor P.J. Marx, Liberty Ammunition produces ammunition for the U.S. military and foreign militaries allies and markets personal defense and hunting rounds through a small number of distributors and dealers. It also sells law enforcement ammunition.
Liberty CEO George Phillips welcomed the judge's decision.
"We feel we're totally vindicated that PJ Marx is the inventor of the enhanced performance round and that the court was absolutely clear in its decision," he told the Bradenton Herald.
The government has until Feb. 19 to appeal Lettow's decision.
According to the narrative in court documents, the Army had been working to develop lead-free ammunition since 1995 in an effort to cut down on lead pollution where the Army's bullets are used. Traditional bullets are constructed with lead cores.
The Army and its ammunition developers made several unsuccessful attempts. Lead-free bullets taken into combat in the 1990s failed in many instances to incapacitate opposing combatants, passing through their bodies without fragmenting into shrapnel as designed. Post-combat reports cited in court documents said those combatants were often able to return fire after being shot.
9/11 makes an inventor
Marx, who was aware of the Army's ammunition development effort, began developing his own lead-free bullets after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A designer of guitar pickups who partnered with Gibson Guitars in the 1980s, Marx first presented his ammunition designs to the Army in 2004, according to court documents. He formed Liberty the next year.
Marx worked as a professional musician in the 1990s, eventually moving to the Manatee-Sarasota area to be close to his parents, who lived in Florida. He owned a restaurant in Sarasota in the years leading up to entering the arms and armament business.
His first inclination after 9/11 was to design armor, keying on his experience working with ceramics in the guitar business. Marx, who holds numerous U.S. patents for his inventions, said he later moved into designing ammunition, becoming interested in it while designing products to defend against it.
His success with Liberty is the continuation of a business venture that started when his parents, Philip and Sandra Heintzen, loaned him money at age 13 to buy an ownership share in a music store.
"I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for them," he said.
Lethal against all targets
As the chief of research and development for his company, Marx said his aim from the beginning was to produce a next-generation military bullet that could both penetrate armor and be effective for anti-personnel duty. That it is lead-free was a fortunate coincidence.
"My priority was performance," Marx said.
In addition to meeting with Marx to discuss his ammunition design, Army officials also tested Liberty ammunition, according to court documents. The Army eventually chose to develop its lead-free ammunition in partnership with Minneapolis-based aerospace and defense contractor ATK.
The federal court that decided the trademark infringement case found that the ammunition designed through the partnership derived its advanced characteristics from Liberty's designs. Marx filed for a patent for his ammunition in 2005 and received that patent in 2010.
The military's lead-free ammunition was fielded in Afghanistan in 2010.
The court did not side with Liberty on every point. The company and its legal representatives also accused the government of breaching several non-disclosure agreements. Lettow found that the agreements were signed by officials who lacked the authority to initiate such contracts.
Phillips, who came to Liberty after a career running ground ammunition operations for the U.S. Marine Corps, said he signed on with Marx because he invented the first real innovation in ammunition in decades. The company's military-issue bullet not only works against hard and soft targets, it and all the company's other types of ammunition are lighter and exert less recoil force than traditional ammo.
"I've been looking for the next generation bullet since 1985," he said.
Liberty's civilian market bullets lack the armor penetrating points available in military rounds. They are deep hollow core rounds that fire at velocities of up to 2,000 feet per second, about twice that of heavier, traditional lead-cored ammunition.
Liberty currently holds nine patents on its products and has filed for several more. Marx said his design is scalable to uses outside of handguns and military rifles, including aerial use. The company can be contacted through its website, libertyammunition.com.
http://www.bradenton.com/2015/01/11/5574467_bradenton-ammunition-maker-wins.html?rh=1
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