January 23, 2013

Dear Industry Leaders & RIA Members:                                                

On Tuesday, January 22, 2013, RIA filed suit in Federal Court in the Western District of Washington State against Thermapure. The purpose of this suit is to invalidate six of the seven patents held by Thermapure. These patents, and in particular the "812," have been used by Thermapure to sue RIA members and other restoration industry companies through a process commonly known as "patent trolling." RIA firmly believes that these suits are without merit, as the family of patents involved assert claims that have been industry standards for years. The RIA suit can be accessed here.

In 2012, RIA's Board of Directors created the Restoration Industry Legal Fund to address a number of issues that impact RIA members and the entire industry. The RIA Legal Fund Committee was established and made recommendations to the full RIA Board regarding this matter. The Board approved their action to engage counsel and work to invalidate these patents. Today, RIA issued a press release announcing the suit and the role of the Legal Fund. A copy of the press release is on our website. Patti Harman and I are the RIA spokespersons on this issue, and request that you refer anyone seeking additional information to us at the RIA office (800-272-7012).

This is a major endeavor for RIA and illustrates what trade associations do best - they represent and defend their members' business interests. Our goal is to raise the funds for this effort in the coming months, and all of our members will be asked for their financial support. RIA has established an online contribution option for individuals who would like to contribute to this effort. It can be accessed through the RIA website here.  

Thank you for your support of RIA over the years, and please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions on this matter.

Timothy Shaw

Executive Director