Kansas City-based nonprofit Alphapointe wins summary judgment in patent infringement case

By Madison Parry

The national nonprofit organization scored a big win in a patent infringement case against Composite Resources, Inc. One of the largest U.S. employers of the visually impaired, the litigation involving Alphapointe dates back nearly four years and has now effectively come to an end.

After nearly four years, a patent infringement case involving Kansas City-headquartered Alphapointe and South Carolina-based Composite Resources, Inc. is at last drawing to a close following a recent ruling.

A summary judgement of the case ruled in favor of national nonprofit Alphapointe for its innovative Tactical Mechanical Tourniquet (TMT), according to a news release from Alphapointe.

The judgement was issued by Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of North Carolina.

Developed by Alphapointe and approved by the U.S. Department of Defense, the TMT was challenged by Composite Resources, Inc. for patent infringement in 2017.

“This is a defining moment for Alphapointe,” Alphapointe President and CEO Reinhard Mabry said in the release. “We were confident from the beginning that these claims had no basis and that we would be victorious in court, but it’s taken nearly four years to get to this point and that’s unfortunate. Setting that aside, this is a victory not only for Alphapointe and our staff, but also for the men and women in service through our armed forces, as first responders and in law enforcement around the nation because this tourniquet saves lives.”

Headquartered at Prospect Ave in Kansas City, Mo., Alphapointe employs over 400 people across nine locations in four states.

The nonprofit manufactures tens of millions of products annually and provides comprehensive vision rehabilitation services to thousands of children, adults and seniors.