Revenge of the Native Americans Continues. Sovereign Tribes Not Subject To Suit For Patent Infringement.
Specialty House of Creation ("SHC") is a company started in a chicken coop in 1971 by a 63 year 
old grandmother and a 26 year old entrepreneur (who both apparently loved dogs). Their business grew over the years and one of their products is the "Slot-Card with Claw". This device is designed to keep casino goers from losing their player cards by tethering the card to a belt loop, shirt pocket, body piercing or other stable foundation. SHC has a patent on this device.
SHC provided a number of these Slot Cards to the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma for use in the tribe's casinos. The Tribe allegedly obtained more of these tsotchkes from another company and referenced the SHC patent number in the request.
SHC sued the Quapaw Tribe in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The Tribe moved for dismissal due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Court granted the motion and dismissed the suit. The Court followed a line of cases that indicate that a tribe is a sovereign power and as such is immune from private law suits (including patent and copyright infringement) unless such sovereign immunity has been waived. The Court did not find any such waiver and therefore dismissed the suit.
I think we can blame this too on George Bush.
