ToughBuilt provided us with a statement regarding the patent infringement lawsuit filed against them by Meridian International, a competing tool box manufacturer.
Hello Stuart, I am writing you in connection with your article about the Meridian International lawsuit against ToughBuilt.
I don’t want any readers or ToughBuilt customers to be confused into thinking that the lawsuit has any merit or there is any chance that the Court will preclude ToughBuilt from selling either its StackTech modular toolbox or the Kobalt CaseStack tool bag.
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ToughBuilt, not Meridian, is the innovator in the market, and Meridian’s lawsuit is a desperate effort to slow ToughBuilt’s growing popularity and capture of market share in the modular toolbox market.
There are a few things your readers should understand. First, ToughBuilt has been consistently recognized as the leading innovator in the industry, and has received more than 85 patents on its tool designs, more than we understand Meridian has.
Second, there is no allegation that the CaseStack toolbox is a copy of any toolbox that Median sells.
Third, the Court, in denying Meridian’s motion for a preliminary injunction, already held that Meridian had not shown it is likely succeed in the lawsuit on any claim.
We believe “not likely to succeed” is an understatement and we are seeking the invalidation of the two patents at issue and recovery of our own fees and costs for what we consider to be a lawsuit that Meridian knows is meritless and is intended only to harass ToughBuilt.
ToughBuilt stands behind its products, and hopes that no one will mistake the Meridian lawsuit for a legitimate claim.
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Sincerely,
Michael Panosian
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
(The quoted letter has been edited with line breaks to aid readability on a wide range of device types.)
Zac
Neat. You can be an innovator in a market Michael, but if nobody can get your stuff, and you price yourselves out then what’s the point?
Where am I supposed to buy it?! I’m sure as heck isn’t going to be off of freaking Temu!!
I went all in on toughbuilt stacktech because it in my opinion is the best. But promises of new models and features have come and go. I can only get what Lowe’s has and they seem to be caring less and less about what toughbuilt product they have. There are never any sales, and the price of toughbuilt stacktech is really “premium.” There is no incentive to have sales on product when the market is flooded, and they’re then only one in the US that carries stacktech.
Address what you’re going to do for the product / brand instead of this PR junk regarding the lawsuit.
Trevor
Agree….. Not counting US market, the product is simply not available in the retail stores.
Jronman
I wish it came to Menards as I think Menards sells other Tough Built items or at least used to. I haven’t specifically sought out Tough Built stuff so I don’t recall recently if they are still at Menards.
Zac
There’s not much left. They put a lot of stuff on super clearance last year. Mostly the tool belts and that sort of thing.
I’ve never seen any stacktech stuff at my Menards.
Matt
Menards had the whole line of cliptech belts & pouches until they introduced their Masterforce version of the same thing now I find bags, pouches, knee pads, ect periodically. Even then it’s not at all locations or only online.
Darren Cross
Plenty of their products here in Australia
Matt
Same here, I went all in last spring and got what was available at the time in anticipation of the transport line up release. Since then Lowes has very little displayed or an associate has to dig it out from above still boxed from shipping. Anyone have any news on any of the transporters or Accessory add ons, can’t seem to find any updates
Mike
If ToughBuilt is the innovator, which product was on the market first, ToughBuilt’s or Meridian’s?
Stuart
Being innovative doesn’t mean being first. Frankly I agree that TB did innovate with StackTech’s latching method, which works very differently compared to the designs other brands have come up with.
Zac
It is very sturdy and well built. Nothing feels flimsy.
Seriously, the feeling in hand is ultra premium for all of their stacktech stuff. I’m convinced you could drive over a case and it’d survive. Even the lids on the small parts cases are strong and not flimsy.
The latching system is legit and strong!! The only downside I have seen is the latches on the flip tops (not the stacking latches) being sort of fiddly to do while a cases is stacked. It’s a trade off for strength in my opinion.
I picked up a BOATLOAD of DeWalt Tough system because it was so cheap last year. In comparison the latching system is much less strong. Cases are ultra wobbly (you can fix this printing spacers) which gets worse as you stack things higher and higher.
Steve Richter
So, this might be one of those “idea” patents, then. Not a specific WAY to do something but just the IDEA of doing something.
The little research I did shows a different latching stlystem, but I didn’t get too deep.
If it infringes, so be it. If not, invalidate the patents.
Unfortunately, having an actual case is not a prereq to a lawsuit.
Joe
Love these articles – glad to hear ToughBuilt is sticking around. Wish they would release more products.
Bonnie
Not a fan of just regurgitating copy from the brands like this. Michael may be confident, but sweeping statements and claims to be the best like this just make my eyes roll, and he can shout it from official PR channels all he likes. Seeing in uncritically repeated here I could do without.
Who is supposedly “consistently recogniz[ing them] as the leading innovator”?
I have no skin in this game, I own neither companies products, but peen-measuring via number of patents just sounds childish. An individual patent could be as important as the telephone, or as inconsequential as a pistol-grip on a monkey wrench.
Stuart
It’s not a general statement that’s being “regurgitated,” it’s a letter directed to me and by extension ToolGuyd’s audience, specifically addressing an opinioned comment I made in the other post.
Bonnie
A letter that says nothing? What’s the benefit to giving them your platform here? “This lawsuit has no merit and there’s no chance the court will side with our opposition” is said by every corporation regardless of the merit of the case, they’d be torn apart by their legal council if they said anything else.
What is the benefit to the readers or ToolGuyd from posting this?
Stuart
Personally, I don’t like to make purchasing decisions when there’s a non-zero chance of litigation impact. ToughBuilt is confident that there’s nothing to be concerned about.
Some of you seem interested in direct statements or commentary. Ahead of Pipeline 2024 a reader specifically requested I ask Milwaukee for commentary about the lawsuit against ModBox. I did, and they declined to provide on-record comment.
That request is what prompted me to include the letter rather than add a one-line summary to the preceding post.
It seemed like a good idea to present the statement and let you guys respond. I avoided adding my opinions to the post about the lawsuits, and I maintained that stance here. Sharing their statement is the least I could do, so that’s what I did.
If you’re not interested, skip it and move on. Discuss amongst yourselves whether no one is interested, and let me know when you’ve reached a consensus.
Scott
I’m interested in this Stuart, bc I’m heavily invested in TB Stacktech. I appreciate you looking into it and sharing this. I give TB some credit as they did say something, even if it has been frustrating not knowing what has been going on with the company.
So maybe if you aren’t interested in stories pertaining to certain brands of tools that other people may be invested in then skip over it? Because maybe not every story on here has to please Bonnie?
Stan W
Actually, it says that Meridien didn’t win an injunction preventing them from selling their system. That says a lot.
Jared
Not being successful in the motion for a preliminary injunction isn’t conclusive – there’s reasons other than “the claim is weak” why that might happen.
To be successful Meridian bore the onus of proving they were likely to succeed on the merits of the case, irreparable harm might occur if the injunction is not granted, the balance of hardships favors them and that granting the injunction is in the public interest.
However, Michael says Meridian was unsuccessful because they failed to show that the action was likely to succeed. That really might mean something. The criteria for preliminary injunction aren’t the whole case though.
JR Ramos
Yeah, it really doesn’t say much of anything, nor does his statement about seeking to invalidate the two patents (if they are even allowed to pursue that, it’ll be a tough row to hoe and take many months until that decision is reached, which can then be appealed….just like the situation with the hyper-step drill bits (inventor Wang) and Norseman which is in the appeals process now for the last six months or so).
This is mostly a PR puffy piece, probably concerned with any negative publicity, which they stand to lose a lot from at this point in their journey. Reminds me of what they said to Stuart last summer…and then just a few weeks later look what happened (and what happened after that…and…). I like several of their products but at this point I have ZERO faith in their leadership and I’m not convinced that they’ll be able to make the company last much longer given their back end situation(s). I certainly do not feel like anything they say is trustworthy, all said and done, now. But I’m not an investor or otherwise overly concerned with them. It’s a shootshow of a company, though, and mostly always has been. They stiffed a lot of people pretty hard and have the audacity to continue with the marketing/PR fluff whenever they do speak. I think one investor lawsuit (Nevada maybe?) was quashed but I wouldn’t be surprised if another one pops up.
TomD
This is the key – but not in the way the email author wants. A preliminary injunction would have been very VERY bad for TB – because it would mean that Meridian convinced them there was immediate uncorrectable damage occurring – which would be surprising, because most damage of this type can be corrected by money awarded later.
You always go for the injunction, but you rarely get it (if you do, you’ve basically won because they’ll settle immediately). Not getting it doesn’t say much about the strengths of the case, and much of the same issues still stand.
eddiesky
Someone has a Bee in their Bonnie! Do you pay to sub to this site? No. Stuart has the right to post to his site whatever he feels relevant. This is relevant. Are you affiliated with Meridian or family members, or affiliates? Perhaps a competitor?
I’m sure Stuart would also post a letter from Meridian, if he received one.
Robert
I kind of split the difference between Bonnie and Stuart, leaning a bit more towards Bonnie’s stance. Stuart you may not like to comment on lawsuits, but to me the real value to posting the TB’s executive words would be if Stuart dissected each point and gave opinion and context. Stuart is basically the equivalent of an expert witness on the stand. Otherwise it is just posting gamesmanship spin by TB.
Jim Felt
Bonnie!
A “pistol grip on a monkey wrench”? That sounds suspiciously like country lyrics composed by Monte Python!
Very impressive.
MM
The letter definitely seems to have been written with plenty of boardroom buzzwords, and there’s a clear amount of puffery involved. When I first started writing this reply I was going to be a lot more critical. But, now that I think back about it, this isn’t the first time that ToughBuilt’s CEO has contacted Stuart to discuss relevant issues going on with their products. How many other companies CEOs have done that? VERY few. I think I recall seeing something from Mr. Reed of Reekon before, but that’s about it. I can’t fault Toughbuilt’s CEO for commenting as that is something I wish more companies would do. Yeah it would be nice if there was less puffery but an imperfect response is better than no response.
A W
I appreciate the letter.
I love my existing TB products (table and sawhorses) and am on the fence as to whether to invest in Stacktech or Packout.
The lawsuit news was discouraging. This statement helps me understand it better.
John T
As always, take a statement from a company with a grain of salt. Do you think they would ever say “Oh yeah, this is really bad for us.”?
Mike McFalls
I have no stake in or passion for either of these brands and I have none of their products. That said these lawsuits are bad for the consumer, because the associated cost is going to be passed on to us one way or another.
Mopar
I actually appreciate the letter without any opinion or bias from Stuart. He simply allowed one side to directly comment to Toolguyd’s readers. I think it’s quite safe to say that if Stuart received a similar letter from Meridian, he would publish that here the same way, and would also include links to previous posts like this one.
I appreciate Stuart simply presenting the “evidence” and allowing us to form our own opinion. It reminds me of the sign in from of my local school leading up to the first day in fall a few years back. It said something to the effect of “A teacher’s job is to teach children how to think, not what to think.” Stuart is offering us information about how to think, instead of telling us what to think.
Stuart
Meridian reached out when they first issued the lawsuit, asking for an email address so they can send me the press release. I didn’t see the email at first, and when I did I replied that I would consider it. They never followed up.
ToughBuilt’s letter wasn’t a generalized statement, but a response to what I said here:
With respect to learning how to think vs what to think, that does factor into a lot of ToolGuyd content. In this case, I also took into account that the letter is primary source, whereas interpretation would have been secondary. It seemed important to have it published outside of my email inbox.
blocky
Yeah, thanks for posting it verbatim. Really interesting stuff.
S
I appreciate passing the letter on. Though I really think toughbuilts problems run deeper than a single lawsuit. I don’t think there’s enough public information to sway opinion to either side, so it’ll very much be up to the courts to decide.
But,if they truly want to develop better purchaser confidence, they need to either work with Lowe’s for better product availability, or develop alternate sales locations for those products. Being shoehorned into a a small dark recess in the tool section, or 2 shelves up in shrink wrap, and only maintaining 1-2 items each of 25% of the available product line at many stores are not viable sales strategies. Most of us already know that if any online page says there’s 3 in stock at the local store, that equals 0 most times. My local Lowe’s has never stocked more than 3 of any toughbuilt option, so I’ve never visited a store specifically for it.
Not to mention, they are way behind their own self-imposed release schedule that their product road map indicated. I was interested in a number of those products pending the price point. But current product availability and that release lag has me gun-shy to commit to a system that may not ever see full release.
hleb shauchuk
didnt find any products of meridian. can you share something?
Stuart
They’re an OEM that produces tool boxes for other companies, such as Kobalt CaseStack for Lowe’s.
Jason M
I honestly really want to swap all my packout for Toughbuilt, I’ve written that on here before but the problem is I can’t find it anywhere. My collection is pretty broad between portable and wall mounted and TB checks all my boxes except availability
Kyle
I appreciate Stuart posting the letter and it’s context for readers here. If nothing else it shows that Toughbuilt takes this outlet and the people who read it seriously.
Norse
I for one, am rooting for ToughBuilt. I have been really pleased with Stacktech. It checks a lot of boxes for me (pun not intended). I am almost one year into daily use of about 12 pieces of their system and I really don’t have any gripes. The drawer boxes are a game changer for me. Everything in the system is rugged and just works. I am rooting with my pocketbook at the moment. I just ordered a 4 wheel dolly. To my knowledge, my local Lowe’s has never had one in stock. I waited almost a year to find one in stock online. I wanted to order 2, but only one was available. I really hope that they can figure out how to succeed in this market. Their struggles are not linked to poor product.
Daniel
I’m all in on Milwaukee Packout, but certainly am interested in what is going on in the market.
Besides the content of the letter, I think it’s important to note, that they reached out to you Stuart. That says something. They cared enough to get their side of the story out, albeit, lacking in a lot of details.
I do own some tough built gear, non of it tool boxes, and everything I have, has worked great.
Thanks for posting the letter for us!
John
Just went and compared Meridian International with tough built and for them to say it’s not similar is a very big stretch. They looked very similar to me. Regardless I have a few toughbuilt items and they seem to hold up pretty well. I’m more of a veto backpack/bag kind of guy. Veto holds up its warranty if you ever even need to use it. Bought my first veto bag over 10 years ago and all the zippers and velco is still holding strong and I still use it to this day. Buy a veto if you don’t want to buy another tool bag/box ever again.
Zac
I wanted to circle back on this post and add an additional thought after reading some of the responses here. I don’t think Stuart is just regurgitating what the CEO is saying, I think sharing this information with the consumers is pretty awesome in transparent.
This provides us a forum essentially to give feedback in the other direction. It’s obvious that the CEO follows this site, therefore we can read what was provided and make a sort of indirect response, such as the one I did.
Whether anything comes of it is one thing but at least we’re able to do this. If Stuart didn’t share anything there wouldn’t be any opportunity yeah?
Frank A. Jr. Visciglia
I’m waiting patiently for all the drawer boxes to be available. Hopefully sooner than later by much or else another brand will do.