Kevin Heinl

Albie's was "caught off guard, literally, because they didn't think you could patent a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," said the company's lawyer, Kevin Heinl.

"They're misusing the patent system," said Albie's lawyer Kevin Heinl."It's outrageous."
...
said Heinl, the Albie's lawyer.
...
The point of the lawsuit was to keep it that way, Heinl said, noting: "They were filing suit to keep Albie's out of the market."

"They're misusing the patent system," said Albie's lawyer Kevin Heinl."It's outrageous."

A generation ago, Smucker's sandwich, which looks like a flying saucer, and Albie's, which is a fat square, would have fought it out in the marketplace.The best sandwich would win.

Now the corporate urge is to get a patent to stifle competition.It's a process being helped along by the courts and Congress, which keep broadening the nature of what is patentable, while limiting the patent office's ability to reject an application on the grounds of common sense.

"They're misusing the patent system," said Albie's lawyer Kevin Heinl."It's outrageous."

A generation ago, Smucker's sandwich, which looks like a flying saucer, and Albie's, which is a fat square, would have fought it out in the marketplace.The best sandwich would win.

Now the corporate urge is to get a patent to stifle competition.It's a process being helped along by the courts and Congress, which keep broadening the nature of what is patentable while limiting the patent office's ability to reject an application on the grounds of common sense.

...
said Heinl, the Albie's lawyer."Anyone can make a defective sandwich."

Although the arguments were narrow, the business implications were large.

"The Uncrustables brand sandwich defines its own market," Smucker said in an affidavit arguing that anything so immediately popular had to be non-obvious and therefore patentable.With sales of 50 million sandwiches a year, it was the firm's fastest-growing product.
...
The point of the lawsuit was to keep it that way, Heinl said, noting: "They were filing suit to keep Albie's out of the market."

Smucker, which recently solidified its hold on the peanut butter market by buying the Jif brand, is confident the reexamination will help Uncrustables.

Albie's was "caught off guard, literally, because they didn't think you could patent a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," said the company's lawyer, Kevin Heinl.