SNOWMOBILE DIGEST
PJS PRODUCTS WINS SUIT
PJS Products of Green Bay, Wis., won its law suit against Sknowbest Inc., regarding plastic slides for snowmobile trailers. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach awarded the company, which also does business under the name Sledder’s Choice, more than $270, 000. The original suit, filed in 2002, was also against PowerMadd Inc. and DeLanghe Enterprises. PJS and those companies settled earlier, and terms of the settlements were not disclosed.
The legal action began in May, 2002, when PJS received a cease-and-desist letter from SknowBest! regarding PJS’ Quadra-Slide. As a result, distributors dropped the PJS products from their catalogs. PJS not only denied patent infringement, but claimed SknowBest failed to act responsibly in determining actual infringement by PJS and was targeting PJS solely because PJS was a chief competitor in the distribution market.
In May of this year, Judge Griesbach issued a permanent injunction against Sknowbest! from ever bringing suit against PJS, its future assigns or its customers for any slide products related to the enforcement of the patent The judge also found that SknowBest! was liable for tortious interference, trade libel and also conspiracy to injure.
ARCTIC CAT, POLARIS CERTIFIED
Four-stroke snowmobiles for 2005 manufactured by Arctic Cat, Thief River Falls, Minn., and Polaris Industries, Medina, Minn., have been certified by the by the U.S. Department of the Interior as meeting Best Available Technology (BAT) standards required for snowmobiles operated in select national parks. Arctic’s turbo T660 was certified, as was Polaris’ Frontier Touring model.
Snowmobiles must be BAT-certified to meet new, more-stringent noise and pollution requirements that take effect this winter in Yellowstone National Park. BAT certification may also be required for snowmobiles operated in Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway.
TAHOE AREA REMAINS OPEN
U.S. District Judge David Levi in Sacramento, Calif., overturned a ban on snowmobiles in Hope Valley, Calif., area, stating the U.S. Forest Service did not cite problems serious enough to warrant the closure.
The area, located near Lake Tahoe, has been a source of controversy since the early 1990, between snowmobilers and cross-country skiers.
BONEV JOINS SPECTRE GAMING BOARD
Robert Bonev, vice president of sales and marketing at Arctic Cat has been named to the board of directors of Spectre Gaming Inc., El Cajon, Calif. The appointment was effective as of Oct. 8. Spectre designs and develops networks, software and content for the Native American gaming industry.
