Ammunition Manufacturer Just Won a Huge Lawsuit
Against the Federal Government
An ammunition manufacturer in Bradenton, Florida, will
collect more than $15 million from the U.S. government after a
judge ruled the defense department infringed on one of the
company’s patents.
(Getty Images)
Liberty Ammunition first filed suit against the government in
2011 once it discovered the U.S. Army had used at least some of
its patented trade secrets to develop lead-free bullets for
military rifles. The Florida manufacturer currently has nine
patents and has filed for several more,
according to the Bradenton Herald.
Liberty Ammunition is known for selling ammunition to the
U.S. military, foreign military allies and U.S. law enforcement
agencies. It also markets personal defense and hunting rounds
through a number of distributors and dealers.
Following the court’s December 19 decision, Liberty CEO
George Philips
told the Herald that he feels “totally vindicated” by
court’s decision that his company is in fact the inventor of
the bullet, called the “enhanced performance round.”
In the decision, U.S. Federal Court of Claims Judge
Charles Lettow ordered the government to pay Liberty
Ammunition a lump sum of $15.6 million in addition to a
1.4-cent royalty on every bullet it buys and receives
until the patent expires in 2027.
Image source: Getty Images.
According to court documents, Liberty Ammunition
owner PJ Marx met with defense department officials in
during the development of the ammunition to try to sell
his design to the government for military use. The
filings point out that each person signed a
non-disclosure agreement, barring them from sharing or
copying any of ideas that were being presented to them.
The Army eventually decided to partner with
Minneapolis-based defense contractor ATK. Lettow’s
ruling found that the government infringed upon
Liberty’s design patent through its partnership with
ATK,
the Bradenton Herald reported.
The department of defense did not immediately respond to
questions from TheBlaze on Tuesday. It has until
February 19 to appeal the court’s decision.
