Jury awards Riddell $5M in patent lawsuit

DES PLAINES - A federal court jury awarded football helmet manufacturer Riddell $5 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against rival helmet maker Schutt Sports.

The company sued Schutt, claiming it has infringed on two of Riddell's football helmet patents. Schutt, based in Litchfield, Ill., argued that it did not infringe on one of the patents and both patents were invalid, according to a release from Riddell.

The Northern Distict of Illinois federal court jury found in Riddell's favor that both patents were valid and infringed by Schutt's Vengeance line of helmets.

"Riddell is appreciative that the jury recognized Riddell's head protection leadership and that our innovations were improperly infringed by Schutt," said Riddell President and Chief Executive Officer Dan Arment.

Riddell manufacturers football helmets and shoulder pads, and provides reconditioning services such as cleaning, repairing, repainting and recertifying existing equipment.