Extracts from The Elkharttruth.com: A Chicago firefighter named Michael Wielgat is taking legal action against Elkhart Brass and two of its executives. He claims that the company violated their contract to produce, promote, and sell a device he created for combating high-rise fires. Furthermore, he alleges that they are attempting to claim the invention as their own. Known as the HERO (High-rise Emergency Response Offensive) Pipe, this device can be mounted on a window sill or the floor below a fire occurring above the 12th floor—where ladder trucks cannot reach with water—and extends a telescoping arm upward to deliver water directly to the affected floor. Captain Wielgat came up with this idea back in 2004 after fighting a fire at the 45-story LaSalle Bank building in Chicago, where dozens of people were trapped above the 29th floor due to limited firefighting access. In 2007, Wielgat's patent application was published by the U.S. Patent Office. By 2010, after numerous prototype tests with the Chicago and New York fire departments, the FDNY requested that the HERO Pipe be equipped with a remote control or movable monitor to improve the direction of the water spray. When Wielgat sought assistance from Elkhart Brass to provide such a monitor, the tests conducted with it were successful. This led to the FDNY ordering four HERO Pipes. That same year, in April 2010, Wielgat founded Hero Systems Inc. Around the end of that year, Don Sjolin, Elkhart Brass's COO, approached him with an offer to manufacture the product. Sjolin projected sales to exceed $1 million in the first year, with exponential growth thereafter. In April 2011, both parties signed a license and manufacturing agreement. However, unbeknownst to Wielgat, just a month prior to signing the agreement, Elkhart Brass had secretly filed patent applications in the U.S. and China under their own name. They listed Elkhart Brass employees Steve Bollinger, Curt McDowell, and Bruce Behenna as the inventors. The lawsuit accuses Elkhart Brass, along with Sjolin and CEO Hans Ashbaugh, of conspiring to sabotage the sale and marketing of the HERO Pipe, ultimately terminating the agreement on false pretenses of being unable to sell the device. Once the agreement was dissolved, the suit claims that Elkhart Brass began marketing and selling the HERO Pipe as their own invention. The agreement effectively ended in December when Elkhart Brass ceased reimbursing Wielgat for expenses. Hero Systems Inc.'s lawsuit was filed on January 9 in the northern Indiana U.S. District Court in South Bend. Thanks Dan! This case highlights the complex nature of intellectual property rights and the challenges faced by inventors when dealing with large corporations. It raises important questions about transparency and fairness in business agreements. If these allegations hold true, it could set a significant precedent for protecting individual innovators' rights in similar situations. As someone who values ingenuity and fair play, I find this story particularly concerning and hope justice prevails for Captain Wielgat. Home Furnishing Aluminum Profile Home Furnishing Aluminum Profile,Wardrobe Aluminum Profile,Cabinet Furniture Aluminium Extrusions,Aluminum Cabinet Door Extrusion Jiangsu Yuma Solar Co., Ltd. , https://www.yumaaluminum.com