IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS XIAMEN LOTA INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.

, YONGQIANG HE and CHUANBAO ZHU Plaintiffs, v. B&K INDUSTRIES, INC. Defendant. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED COMPLAINT Plaintiffs Xiamen Lota International Co., Ltd. ("Lota"), Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu (hereinafter occasionally referred to as Plaintiffs), for their Complaint, aver as follows: 1. This is an action for correction of inventorship of U.S. Patent No. 6,880,573 (the Civil Action No. 11-6913

573 patent), U.S. Patent No. 7,140,390 (the 390 patent), and U.S. Patent No. 7,549,444 (the 444 patent) pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 256, unjust enrichment, and tortuous interference with prospective economic relations. This action arises out of the failure by defendant B&K Industries, Inc. (B&K) to name Yongqiang He as an inventor of the 573, 390 and 444 patents, and Chuanbao Zhu as an inventor of the 390 patent. This failure by B&K arose notwithstanding B&Ks written concession that Lota employees were inventors of the patents, and Lotas demands, from September 2007 through January 2008, that B&K voluntarily agree to correct the inventorship of these patents. PARTIES 2. Lota is a Chinese corporation with its principal place of business at No. 61

Xingnan Road, Jimei District, Xiamen, Fujian, 361022, China. Lota is the sole assignee of Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhus rights under the 573, 390 and 444 patents.

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Yongqiang He is an individual residing at 401 Room, No. 11, Kangle Li, Huli

District, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. 4. Chuanbao Zhu is an individual residing at 301 Room, No. 285, Cangxiang Road,

Haicang Town, Haicang District, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. 5. Upon information and belief, B&K is an Illinois corporation with its principal

place of business at 2021 Lunt Avenue, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, 60007. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 6. This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, Title 35 of the

United States Code, including 35 U.S.C. 256. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331 and 1338(a). This court also has supplemental jurisdiction over the Illinois state law claims, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1367. 7. This Court has personal jurisdiction over B&K by virtue of its incorporation in

the State of Illinois, its presence in this district, and its substantial activities in this judicial district. 8. 1400(b). FACTUAL BACKGROUND The 573 Patent 9. The 573 patent is entitled Frost Free Valve Assembly and issued on April 19, Venue is proper in this judicial district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391 and

2005. A copy of the 573 patent is attached as Exhibit A hereto. The 573 patent identifies Peter Berkman (Berkman), Robert Tripp (Tripp), Ralph Mieseler (Mieseler), and Igor Alzares (Alzares) as inventors, but fails to name Yongqiang He (Mr. He) as an inventor. Upon information an belief, and according to the assignment records of the United States Patent Office, Berkman, Tripp, Mieseler, and Alzares have assigned their rights in the 573 patent to B&K.

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10.

The 573 patent states: The present invention relates to a valve assembly for use

in residential or commercial plumbing systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a frost free valve assembly that includes a 1/4 turn valve. The valve assembly described and claimed by the 573 patent includes features such as a radial outlet port, and a valve member rotatably positionable through 90 degrees between a closed position and an open position and including a first valve element and a second valve element rotatably positionable with respect to said first valve element, as recited in claim 1 of the 573 patent. 11. Rob Tripp, an employee of B&K, met with Lota employees on March 11, 2002 at

Lotas facility in Xiamen, China. At that meeting, Tripp requested Lota assess the feasibility of and develop a novel, fast opening 1/4-turn frost free silcock valve. Lotas business team requested Yongqiang He to determine whether it was possible to make a 1/4-turn frost-free silcock valve on March 18, 2002. Mr. He conceived a valve member comprising two valve elements rotatably positionable with respect to each other, as recited in claims 1-9 of the 573 patent. By April 1, 2002, Mr. Shi James Li (Li or Mr. Li) of B&K was informed that a fast opening 1/4-turn frost free silcock was technically possible. Mr. Li was also provided with a drawing prepared by Yongqiang He. (April 1, 2002 fax, attached as Exhibit B hereto). 12. Thereafter, Mr. He refined the design of the silcock, and reduced it to practice.

The first prototypes of the 1/4-turn frost free silcock were made in August 2002. On August 13, 2002, B&K informed Grace Chen, Lotas President, that B&K planned to apply for a patent on the 1/4-turn frost free silcock, and asked Lota to prepare formal drawings for the patent application once your design is finalized. (Aug. 13, 2002 email, attached as Exhibit C hereto). Lota prepared the drawings, and provided them to B&K on October 10, 2002. (Oct. 10, 2002 fax, attached as Exhibit D hereto).

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On December 11, 2002, B&K admitted Lotas contributions to the invention

described in the planned patent application, and asked who at Lota should be identified as an inventor. (Dec. 11, 2002 email, attached as Exhibit E hereto). On December 12, 2002, Lota confirmed that its design engineer was an inventor, and asked that a form be sent for his signature. (Dec. 12, 2002 fax, attached as Exhibit F hereto). On May 14, 2003, Lota inquired regarding the status of the patent filing. B&K informed Lota that it was filing two applications, and that the documents would be completed shortly. (May 15, 2003 email, attached as Exhibit G hereto). The first patent application, which issued as the 573 patent, was filed on July 31, 2003. The 390 Patent 14. The 390 patent is entitled Frost Free Valve Assembly and issued on

November 28, 2006. A copy of the 390 patent is attached as Exhibit H hereto. The 390 patent identifies Berkman and Shi James Li as inventors, but fails to name Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu (Zhu or Mr. Zhu) as inventors. Upon information and belief, and according to the assignment records of the United States Patent Office, Berkman and Li have assigned their rights in the 390 patent to B&K. 15. The 390 patent is a continuation-in-part of the 573 patent. The 390 patent

describes an improved valve cartridge with additional features alleged not to have been previously disclosed in the 573 patent. (See 390 patent Col. 6:26-Col. 7:67). These features include a collar having flexible sidewalls connected to the valve housing (as recited in claim 5), or disposed on the slider plate (as recited in claim 10), or an armature mechanically coupled to the second valve element (as recited in claim 3). Additional features of the 390 patent also

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include an armature, slider plate and a pressure relief mechanism, as recited in claims 1-17 of the 390 patent. 16. In April 2002, Chuanbao Zhu conceived of the collar with flexible sidewalls that

may be disposed on the armature or the slider plate, or may be connected to the valve housing. (see fax, attached as Exhibit I hereto). Shortly thereafter, in collaboration with Mr. Zhu, Yongqiang He reduced to practice these features of the invention. 17. From October 2003 to about June 2004, Yongqiang He conceived and reduced to

practice the armature, slider plate and pressure relief mechanism described and claimed in the 390 patent. (Dec. 2, 2003 and June 24, 2004 faxes, attached as Exhibits J and K hereto). The 444 Patent 18. The 444 patent is entitled Frost Free Valve Assembly and issued on June 23,

2009. A copy of the 444 patent is attached as Exhibit L hereto. The 444 patent is a continuation-in-part of the 390 patent. The 444 patent identifies Li and Berkman as inventors, but fails to name Yongqiang He as an inventor. Upon information and belief, and according to the assignment records of the United States Patent Office, Berkman and Li have assigned their rights in the 444 patent to B&K. 19. The 444 patent states: The present invention relates to a valve assembly for use

in residential commercial plumbing systems and more particularly to a 1/2-turn frost free valve assembly. The valve assembly described and claimed in the 444 patent includes features such as a valve member that is rotatably positionable through at least 180 degrees between a closed position and an open position to selectively enable fluid communication from an inlet and an outlet, and including a first valve element and a second valve element [that are] rotatably positionable as recited in claims 1, 11, and 14 of the 444 patent. Additional features of the

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valve assembly described and claimed in the 444 patent include a slider plate, as recited in claims 1 and 13. 20. On September 30, 2005 James Li asked that Lota investigate the possibility of

180 degree turn ceramic cartridge for FFSC [frost free silcock]. [sic] (Sept. 30, 2005 email, attached as Exhibit M hereto). As a result of Mr. Lis request, in October 2005, Yongqiang He conceived and reduced to practice the design of a 1/2-turn valve assembly for a frost free silcock. Mr. Hes designs were sent to James Li on October 27, 2005 (October 27, 2005 email, attached as Exhibit N hereto). Formal drawings of Mr. Hes designs, for the purpose of filing a patent application, were sent to Li on November 10, 2005 (Nov. 10, 2005 email, attached as Exhibit O hereto). FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Correction of Inventorship of the 573 Patent Sole Inventorship) 21. 22. 23. 24. Lota and Yongqiang He restate paragraphs 1 to 20 as if fully set forth herein. Yongqiang He conceived of the claims of the 573 patent. The 573 patent fails to name Yongqiang He as an inventor. The error of omitting Yongqiang He as an inventor of the 573 patent arose

without any deceptive intention on the part of Yongqiang He. 25. Because Yongqiang He is rightfully the inventor of the claims of the 573 patent,

this Court should issue an Order directing the Commissioner of Patents to replace the named inventors with Yongqiang He as the named inventor of the 573 patent. SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Correction of Inventorship of the 573 Patent (In the alternative) Joint Inventorship with the Named Inventors) 26. Lota and Yongqiang He restate paragraphs 1 to 25 as if fully set forth herein.

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27. Relief. 28.

This Second Claim For Relief is made in the alternative to the First Claim for

Yongqiang He made a significant contribution to the conception of, the claims of

the 573 patent. His contribution is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the fully claimed invention. 29. Yongqiang He acted jointly with one or more of the named inventors to arrive at

the claims of the 573 patent. 30. 31. The 573 patent fails to name Yongqiang He as an inventor. The error of omitting Yongqiang He as an inventor of the 573 patent arose

without any deceptive intention on the part of Yongqiang He. 32. Because Yongqiang He is rightfully a co-inventor of one or more claims of the

573 patent, this Court should issue an Order directing the Commissioner of Patents to add Yongqiang He as a co-inventor of the 573 patent. THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Correction of Inventorship of the 390 Patent Sole Inventorship) 33. forth herein. 34. Yongqiang He made a significant contribution to the conception of the claims of Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu restate paragraphs 1 to 32 as if fully set

the 390 patent. His contribution is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the full claimed invention. 35. Chuanbao Zhu made a significant contribution to the conception of claims 3-5 and

9 of the 390 patent. His contribution is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the full claimed invention.

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36. patent. 37. 38.

Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu acted jointly to arrive at the claims of the 390

The 390 patent fails to name Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as inventors. The error of omitting Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as inventors of the 390

patent arose without any deceptive intention on the part of Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu. 39. Because Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu are rightfully co-inventors of each and

every one of the claims of the 390 patent, this Court should issue an Order directing the Commissioner of Patents to replace the named inventors with Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as co-inventors of the 390 patent. FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Correction of Inventorship of the 390 Patent (In the alternative) Joint Inventorship with the Named Inventors) 40. forth herein. 41. Relief. 42. Yongqiang He made a significant contribution to the conception of the claims of This Fourth Claim For Relief is made in the alternative to the Third Claim for Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu restate paragraphs 1 to 39 as if fully set

the 390 patent. His contribution is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the full claimed invention. 43. Chuanbao Zhu made a significant contribution to the conception of claims 3-5 and

9 of the 390 patent. His contribution is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the full claimed invention. 44. Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu acted jointly with one or more of the named

inventors to arrive at the claims of the 390 patent.

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45. 46.

The 390 patent fails to name Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as inventors. The error of omitting Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as inventors of the 390

patent arose without any deceptive intention on the part of Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu. 47. Because Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu are rightfully co-inventors of one or

more claims of the 390 patent, this Court should issue an Order directing the Commissioner of Patents to add Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as co-inventors of the 390 patent. FIFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Correction of Inventorship of the 444 Patent Sole Inventorship) 48. 49. 50. 51. Lota and Yongqiang He restate paragraphs 1 to 47 as if fully set forth herein. Yongqiang He conceived of the claims of the 444 patent. The 444 patent fails to name Yongqiang He as an inventor. The error of omitting Yongqiang He as an inventor of the 444 patent arose

without any deceptive intention on the part of Yongqiang He. 52. Because Yongqiang He is rightfully the inventor of one or more claims of the

444 patent, this Court should issue an Order directing the Commissioner of Patents to replace the named inventors with Yongqiang He as the inventor of the 444 patent. SIXTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Correction of Inventorship of the 444 Patent (In the alternative) Joint Inventorship with the Named Inventors) 53. 54. Relief. Lota and Yongqiang He restate paragraphs 1 to 52 as if fully set forth herein. This Sixth Claim For Relief is made in the alternative to the Fifth Claim for

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55.

Yongqiang He made a significant contribution to the conception of the claims of

the 444 patent. His contribution is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the full claimed invention. 56. Yongqiang He acted jointly with one or more of the named inventors to arrive at

the claims of the 444 patent. 57. 58. The 444 patent fails to name Yongqiang He as an inventor. The error of omitting Yongqiang He as an inventor of the 444 patent arose

without any deceptive intention on the part of Yongqiang He. 59. Because Yongqiang He is rightfully a co-inventor of one or more claims of the

444 patent, this Court should issue an Order directing the Commissioner of Patents to add Yongqiang He as a co-inventor of the 444 patent. SEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Unjust Enrichment) 60. forth herein. 61. B&K has been unjustly enriched at the expense of Lota, Yongqiang He, and Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu restate paragraphs 1 to 59 as if fully set

Chuanbao Zhu by, among other things, its procurement of the 573, 390, and 444 patents and its enjoyment of the exclusivity on an invention that properly belongs to the Plaintiffs. Such exclusivity has been of significant benefit to B&K, and the circumstances are such that it would be unjust for B&K to retain the benefit conferred upon it by owning the patent and continuing to enjoy such exclusivity.

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EIGHTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage) 62. forth herein. 63. 64. B&K intentionally interfered with Plaintiffs prospective economic relations. B&Ks actions in obtaining the 573, 390, and 444 patents have threatened to Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu restate paragraphs 1 to 61 as if fully set

interfere with the Plaintiffs future economic relationships with other customers. 65. B&K, by its actions in obtaining the 573, 390, and 444 patents, intended to

dissuade other parties from completing and entering into business relationships with Plaintiffs and to prevent Plaintiffs from entering into business relationships with other suppliers, manufacturers, and/or customers. 66. The means used by B&K to interfere with Plaintiffs prospective economic

advantage are contrary to law, or otherwise wrongful. 67. Plaintiffs have been damaged by B&Ks intentional interference with Plaintiffs

prospective economic advantage. 68. Plaintiffs are entitled to recover damages for B&Ks intentional interference with

Plaintiffs prospective economic advantage in an amount to be determined at trial.

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TRIAL BY JURY DEMANDED Plaintiffs Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu demand a trial by jury on all issues so triable. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu pray for judgment that the Court: A. Order correction of the inventorship of the 573 patent, to replace the named

inventors with, or, in the alternative, add Yongqiang He as a named inventor; B. Order correction of the inventorship of the 390 patent, to replace the named

inventors with, or, in the alternative, add Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu as named inventors; C. Order correction of the inventorship of the 444 patent, to replace the named

inventors with, or, in the alternative, add Yongqiang He as a named inventor; D. Declare that Lota is the assignee and sole owner or, in the alternative, joint owner

of the 573, 390, and 444 patents. E. Issue a permanent injunction, restraining and enjoining B&K and those acting in

privity or concert with B&K, from practicing the inventions claimed in the 573, 390, and 444 patents. F. Award Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu damages resulting from B&Ks

unjust enrichment and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, including pre- and post-judgment interest; G. Award Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu their attorneys' fees and costs; and

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H.

Award Lota, Yongqiang He and Chuanbao Zhu such other and further relief as the

Court may deem proper. Dated: September 30, 2011 Respectfully submitted, s/Daniel N. Christus Daniel N. Christus Wan-Shon Lo Katherine M. Schon McDermott Will & Emery LLP 227 W. Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois 60606 (312) 372-2000 Attorneys for Plaintiff XIAMEN LOTA INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD., YONGQIANG HE, and CHUANBAO ZHU

DM_US 29243437-4.077087.0151

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