USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Paul Leitner-Wise, principal of Leitner-Wise Manufacturing and the “LW” in the original LWRC, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Sig Sauer and LWRC International in Federal court in Maryland.
Anyone with a passing interest in the firearms industry is aware of the animosity between Leitner-Wise and LWRC, but adding Sig to the mix is a surprising twist.
Here is the complaint filed in MD.
Paul Andrew Leitner-Wise Sues LWRC & SIG Sauer Over Patent Infringement
More from Recoil Magazine:
“We find it deeply troubling that two major firearms manufacturers can predicate the entire success of their piston rifles upon a patent which was assigned without the inventors knowledge and to which they have never paid a penny in royalties,” said Matthew LeFande, the attorney representing Leitner-Wise.
According to patent law expert (and a RECOIL legalese interpreter), Malvern “Griff” Griffin, the patent at issue relates to a self-regulating short-stroke piston operating system for AR-15 type, self-loading rifles. The suit takes aim at LWRC and Sig Sauer products using Leitner-Wise’s self-regulating short-stroke piston system. The complaint specifically names over a dozen different rifle and pistol models, including the LWRC IC-A5 rifle and the SIG MCX rifle.