Inventor Offers License to Firm That Lost Suit to Him in Patent-Infringement Case

Last week, inventor James Malloy won $1.1 million in a patent infringement case against Testerion. And Tuesday, Malloy hoped to win even more as he negotiated to let the Cucamonga-based company become a licensee of his patented device that tests printed circuit boards.

Fortunes have changed quickly for Malloy, who said he had to sell his home in Garden Grove to pay for his legal fight, which began in 1985 when he learned that his patented technology was being used by Testerion. He filed suit against the company last March.

Last Thursday, a U.S. District Court jury agreed with Malloy’s allegations that Testerion infringed on the patent, and awarded him $1.1 million in damages.

“The American justice system is beautiful. I knew that if we presented ourselves well and we went in with the truth we would win,” said Malloy, who now lives in Shasta County in Northern California.

Andrew Belanskey, an attorney for Testerion, said the company might appeal the decision. He confirmed that Testerion is currently negotiating with Malloy, but he would not discuss the subject of those negotiations.

Malloy’s attorney, Robert Strauss, said the negotiations center on Testerion’s future use of the technology.

“We’d like to resolve the dispute so that they can become a licensee. Then we wouldn’t need to seek an injunction barring them from selling the product,” Strauss said.

He said the negotiations are being hurried because of an electronics show that Testerion plans to participate in this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The negotiations also involve National Industries, a Montgomery, Ala., company that is the exclusive licensee of the circuit board testing device, which Malloy says is less expensive to operate than conventional testers.

A printed circuit board is a device on which computer chips are mounted. The chips are connected by metallic ink that carries electricity between them.