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We introduced the Light Cover <\/a>for use with our LeakTrac – Vinyl Liner Leak Detector<\/a> more than 20 years ago.\u00a0 The purpose of the cover is to insulate the light from being a distracting electrical connection from inside the pool to ground.\u00a0\u00a0 As many of you know, skilled artisans in the leak detection business have also used the domes from these covers (and other types of covers, bowls and plugs) with dye to detect the presence of a leak in an isolated area, and they have been doing so for many years.<\/p>\n Red Rhino Leak Detection of West Palm Beach FL, recently acquired patents for a method and device for locating leaks in swimming pool lights using a transparent dome, dye, and a suction cup to hold the dome over the light, (#9464959<\/a>, #9128002<\/a>).\u00a0 They filed a lawsuit against us, alleging that the manufacture, sale and use of our Light Cover dome for dye testing<\/a> infringes on one of their patents.\u00a0 We feel strongly that Red Rhino\u2019s patents are invalid because the claimed technology has been known and used in the industry since well before Red Rhino filed its patent applications, and we also feel strongly that our LCDT product does not infringe for multiple reasons.\u00a0 We shared these beliefs with Red Rhino even before they sued us.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, we also respect the intellectual property of others.\u00a0 Thus, until the suit is resolved, we have elected to replace the clear dome of the LCDT product with an opaque dome.\u00a0 The patent at issue specifically requires that the housing (or dome) of the device be \u201ctransparent whereby the flow of dye in the hollow housing is observable by a user of the device.\u201d \u00a0With the opaque dome, the user of the LCDT product cannot observe the flow of dye in the hollow housing (dome).\u00a0 Thus, the modified LCDT product does not meet this requirement of the patent claim.<\/p>\n This modification does not change the utility of our LCDT product.\u00a0 To detect the presence of a leak in the area isolated by the dome of the LCDT Light Cover, we instruct the user to administer dye outside<\/em><\/strong> an opening in the dome.\u00a0 If the dye is sucked through the opening in the dome the user knows there is a leak somewhere in the isolated area that will warrant further inspection and ultimately a repair.\u00a0 If dye is not sucked through the opening\u00a0the user\u00a0can eliminate it as a possible leak source.<\/p>\n Thus, it does not matter whether the dome is transparent or opaque for the purposes of detecting the presence of a leak.\u00a0 And in\u00a0fact, spending time watching the movement of dye inside the dome will provide no additional benefit because currents resulting from the draw of water into the dome actually disperses the dye faster than would be the case without the dome.\u00a0 In order to actually see dye move toward the leak one would have to deliver it just as carefully and closely to the suspected area as one would without the dome.<\/p>\n