SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 19, 2011: Sector Labs, a San Francisco-based product and concept development firm, is partnering with Excellent Packaging & Supply, a distributor of sustainable and nature-based packaging for foodservice applications, to commercialize a disposable hot cup that takes the guesswork out of dispensing coffee by making it easy for customers to indicate precisely how much room they need for milk or cream. The cups are the first of their kind to incorporate the patent-pending R4 System™ and will be marketed under the Room For™ brand. Working together, the two companies have developed a prototype cup that is currently in trial at Crossroads Café in San Francisco.

To-go cups are typically served filled to the brim, which is fine for customers who prefer their coffee black, but leaves millions of milk and cream lovers with no choice but to dump a few ounces of hot coffee in the garbage. Just stand by the condiment bar at any coffee shop and one thing becomes clear, there is room for improvement in the way coffee is dispensed. By eliminating the need for customers to “make room” for milk or cream, retailers can reduce wasted coffee and appeal to those customers who choose retailers that demonstrate sustainable business practices. In fact, nationwide adoption of the R4 System could reduce the environmental impact of the entire coffee industry, which is facing soaring coffee-bean prices.

Watch a video of real customers making room for cream: http://youtu.be/QnH65qhGWgA

“This is a great example of an overlooked problem that has existed for years in the foodservice industry, and which has wide-ranging ramifications and low consumer awareness. We think the R4 System will change the way people order coffee, what to expect from retailers, and will also save precious resources,” said Allen King, president of Excellent Packaging & Supply. “Unlike other sustainable solutions, Room For brand hot cups are the first cups to conserve coffee, which makes them a different shade of green. We are delighted to partner with Sector Labs on this project, which broadens the range of sustainable solutions we can offer coffee merchants that are focused on sustainability.”

“The practice of ‘making room’ seems trivial, but it takes significant resources to produce and transport coffee across the globe. By the time coffee reaches the customer, about 2,500 gallons of fresh water will have been used to produce a single pound of coffee beans,” says Daniel Kokin, president of Sector Labs. “The R4 System eliminates the need for customers to waste coffee by giving them a better way to order, and unlike other sustainable solutions, we encourage the conservation of what goes into the cup. The R4 System is the ideal solution because it simply adds a level of precision to what customers already do and there’s no compromise or hidden costs — just a more efficient use of resources.”

If initial customer response is any indication, the R4 System should find its way into coffee shops nationwide. “It’s great to see my favorite coffee shop be a part of something so innovative. It’s so obvious; why hasn’t someone thought of this before?” asks Kin Jung, a regular customer at Crossroads Cafe. “Ideas like this have a tendency to change the world.”

To learn more about Room For™ brand coffee-conserving hot cups, please visit roomfor.org.

To learn more about the R4 System™, please visit r4system.com

About Sector Labs

Sector Labs (www.sectorlabs.com) is a product and concept development firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company is led by a team of forward thinkers with the common goal of finding simple solutions to big problems.

About Excellent Packaging & Supply

Excellent Packaging & Supply (www.excellentpackaging.com) is a wholesale distribution company that specializes in nature-based packaging for foodservice and other applications. The company’s range of environmentally sustainable packaging includes compostable, biodegradable and recyclable product lines, as well as traditional packaging solutions. Excellent Packaging & Supply brings decades of experience to assist its customers with mid-level management and inventory-control services, product development, sourcing, quality control, and price negotiation. The company also markets sustainable foodservice packaging solutions for business, restaurant and home on its BioMass Packaging® store: biomasspackagingstore.com. Follow us on Facebook (BioMassPackaging) and Twitter (@BioMassPackage).

Sector Labs and its founder, Daniel Kokin, are too tenacious to give up. Kokin, an inventor, explains, “My team started working on the Video Pod [product] in 2000 and it took us years to go from prototype to funded. At that time, Apple didn’t even enter our minds as a competitor. Now it’s 2010 and I still don’t think Apple is interested in video projection, but I’m supposed to rename our product because Apple also uses ‘pod’?” Although this opposition has been a main focus in Kokin’s life, he doesn’t regret a moment: “I don’t think Apple expected me to fight back. I joke around that I should have gone to law school in the time it has taken this opposition to go to trial. I hope this case will motivate other entrepreneurs to defend themselves in similar situations.” After carrying the torch for seven years since he filed the intent-to-use trademark application for “VIDEO POD”, Kokin has gone from representing himself, having his previous attorneys withdraw, to now having two independent attorneys working on his case. Stewart Kellar, E-ttorney at Law, joined as co-counsel just prior to trial.

Sector Labs began developing a portable video projector in 2000, focusing on creating a projector for the masses in a sleek, futuristic form factor. Sector filed an intent-to-use trademark application for “VIDEO POD” in 2003. Apple filed an opposition to the application in 2007, alleging claims of likelihood of confusion and dilution of its famous mark “IPOD.” Although Apple’s actions are not unprecedented (the company is known for vigorously defending its intellectual property) they do give pause to small business owners trying to brand their products. As Kellar describes it, “Apple is attempting a common tactic among large corporations, which is to carve a niche of trademark protection around everyday language, be it a pod, a pad, or even a book. Businesses choosing trademarks that get close to words claimed by these large corporations should be wary of lawsuits, even in the absence of any consumer confusion. This causes problems for entrepreneurs who have neither the money nor the wherewithal to defend a trademark suit. In terms of motivation, Daniel [Kokin] is obviously the exception to the rule.”

Kokin may have reason to be enthusiastic. In April, 2010, the TTAB denied Apple’s last motion for summary judgment, forcing the parties to go to trial. A final decision on VIDEO POD could be reached by mid-2011 and if Sector Labs prevails, it would be a significant milestone for small businesses across the country. Sector Labs’ trademark rights in the VIDEO POD mark would be retroactively effective as of his application date of February 14, 2003, over two years before Apple released their iPod Video, now known as the iPod Classic. “The benefit of filing an intent-to-use trademark application is that once the mark is used and becomes registered, its protection reaches all the way back to the date of the application. That means if VIDEO POD is granted registration, it will receive protection pre-dating the iPod’s debut into the video realm.” says Christian.

You can follow the action here: http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91176027&pty=OPP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9/21/2010

KILL DATE
1/2/2011
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ana Christian, Esq.
Lead Counsel for Sector Labs
415-933-0533
ana@anachristianlaw.com
Stewart Kellar, E-ttorney at Law
Co-counsel for Sector Labs
415-742-2303
stewart@etrny.com

Not iPod, mind you — just “Pod.” For nine years, Kokin has been developing a video projector, whose body design he feels is best described as a pod. His “Video Pod” projector would display video from a DVD player and other multimedia equipment, but not an iPod.

In 2007, Apple filed an opposition blocking Kokin’s registration of the Video Pod trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and Kokin (pictured right) decided not to back down. Thus far his efforts are paying off: USPTO recently denied Apple’s motion for summary judgment, meaning the two parties must finish this battle in court in front of a judge.

“After a careful review of all of the evidence, on the record presented, we find that there are genuine issues of material fact remaining for trial,” USPTO said in a statement (.pdf). “Accordingly, the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment on opposer’s likelihood of confusion claim are hereby denied.”

Read more of this story at Wired.com:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/video-pod/#ixzz10mMD9zyE

Apple’s obsession with the blockbuster success of its iPod has driven the corporation to chase down many companies attempting to use the media player’s three-letter suffix in their product or business names. Names that have come under fire include MyPodder, TightPod, PodShow, and even Podium. On Monday, Sector Labs, a small business whose Video Pod trademark has been blocked by Apple, took legal action to fight back.

“It appears that Apple is not only trying to put an iPod in everybody’s hands and white earbuds in everyone’s ears but to control the use of our language and most particularly the word ‘Pod,’” Sector Labs’
lawyers wrote in a 239-page response to Apple’s trademark opposition, which has blocked Video Pod’s development. “If we are not careful, in Apple’s quest for dominance, they will soon attempt to take over the words ‘Phone’ and ‘Tunes’ — let us hope they do not attempt a coup over the exclusive rights to the letter ‘i’.”

Read more at Wired:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/apple-calls-leg/#ixzz10mKNB5Dq