Invalidity dossier
US 10118435B2
Added 10/10/2026, 12:01:08 AM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US10118435B2
Title: Lever-actuated pen
Inventor: Joseph M. Csokmay
Assignee: Berea Hardwoods Co Inc (original and current assignee per the source; assignment recorded 2016-05-27)
Application number: US15/166,574
Priority date: 2015-06-23 | Filing date: 2016-05-27
Publication: US20160375716A1 (2016-12-29); US10118435B2 granted 2018-11-06
Legal status (as listed, and not a legal conclusion): Active, adjusted expiration 2036-08-05
Classifications: B43K25/00, B43K25/02, B43K25/028, B43K24/00, B43K24/02, B43K24/08
Purpose. The patent addresses ballpoint pens having retractable writing tips, which conventionally use an externally exposed rear push-button to overcome a biasing spring. The disclosure states that while such push-button pens can be effective and ornamental, users and especially collectors seek novel attractive designs; the described pen is offered as such a result.
Plain-language scope. A pen has an elongated housing with a longitudinal bore ending in an open end, containing an ink cartridge with a writing tip. A spring biases the cartridge toward a retracted position. An operating mechanism inside the housing (including an actuating rod and a cam mechanism) projects and retracts the tip through the open end. A lever is pivotally mounted on the exterior of the housing and operatively engages the internal operating mechanism, so pivoting the lever moves the tip between projected and retracted positions. Disclosed aspects include the lever moving from a first position generally parallel to the housing to a second angled position, and a method of operating the pen by so pivoting the lever. Optional ornamentation is described: a brass conical nose simulating a bullet, and a wood tubular member simulating a rifle stock, with rifle-style engraving possible. Figures 1–8 depict the pen, exploded upper and lower components, and the lever engaging the internal mechanism.
Not established by this excerpt. The excerpt omits the claims as issued, the full detailed description, and the drawings themselves; it also does not establish the scope of claim coverage, the content or teachings of the cited prior-art patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,219,769, 4,205,924, 4,221,491, 4,968,168, 5,152,626, 6,062,756, 6,305,865), or any facts about litigation, ownership transfers, validity, or enforceability (which were not researched).
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US10118435](/patent/US10118435)/en
Generated 10/10/2026, 12:01:20 AM
Cases on file (0)
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Litigation summary
Past and pending lawsuits — plaintiffs, defendants, jurisdictions, outcomes, and notable rulings.
Proceedings on file (0)
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No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.