The ongoing dispute between the two outdoor apparel companies escalated with COLM accusing Seirus Innovative Accessories of funneling payments to Korean fabric supplier Ventex Co. and others to challenge its Omni-Heat patents. In the lawsuit, filed in Portland, OR, District Court, Columbia invoked the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in alleging that Seirus, Ventex and a dozen individuals fraudulently conspired to end run a judge’s order that barred Seirus from filing for inter partes review of its patents with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Seirus paid Ventex surreptitiously to file the IPRs through artificially elevated prices from the ... Log in to view full article.