Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 1 of 43 PageID 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION PROSLIDE TECHNOLOGY INC., Case No.: 6:20-cv-________ Plaintiff, COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT v. AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL WHITEWATER WEST INDUSTRIES, LTD., (INJUNCTIVE RELIEF SOUGHT) Defendant. Plaintiff ProSlide Technology, Inc. (“ProSlide”), by and through its undersigned attorneys, files this Complaint against WhiteWater West Industries, Ltd. (“WhiteWater”) seeking damages and other relief for patent infringement, and alleges as follows: NATURE OF THE ACTION 1. This is an action for patent infringement of United States Patent Nos. 10,702,783 B2, 10,500,508 B2, 9,079,111 B2, 10,369,480 B2, D901,613 S, D892,960 S, and D903,804 S (collectively, “the Asserted Patents”) under the United States Title 35, United States Code, §§ 100 et seq., including 35 U.S.C. § 271. 2. ProSlide brings this action against WhiteWater because of its systematic infringement of ProSlide’s valuable patent rights. As explained herein, WhiteWater’s water rides, including its “TailSpin,” “Orbiter,” “AquaSphere,” and “Boogie Board Racer” water rides infringe claims in one or more of the Asserted Patents. ProSlide brings this action to seek damages and injunctive relief arising out of this patent infringement. Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 2 of 43 PageID 2 THE PARTIES 3. Plaintiff ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian corporation with a principal place of business at 150-2650 Queensview Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2B 8H6. 4. Defendant WhiteWater West Industries, Ltd. is a Canadian corporation with a principal place of business at 6700 McMillan Way, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, V6W 1J7. WhiteWater maintains a U.S. sales offices in Florida.1 WhiteWater may be served in accordance with the terms of the Hauge Convention at the address of its registered office at Suite 950, 1090 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6E 3V7. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5. This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, Title 35 of the United States Code 35 U.S.C. §101, et seq. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a). 6. This Court has personal jurisdiction over WhiteWater at least because, as shown in the below image obtained from WhiteWater’s website depicting WhiteWater’s Florida projects,2 WhiteWater regularly conducts and transacts business of selling, offering to sell, using, and/or importing water rides in this District, including certain infringing rides described herein. For example, Aquatica® in Orlando has multiple WhiteWater products, including an accused AquaSphere product, listed herein.3 WhiteWater also has multiple products in Tampa, 1 See http://aftersales.whitewaterwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/After-Sales-and-Service-Brochure.pdf (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 2 See https://www.whitewaterwest.com/en/projects/global-directory/ (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 3 See https://www.whitewaterwest.com/en/projects/aquatica-orlando/ (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 2 Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 3 of 43 PageID 3 including, e.g., at Adventure Island which includes an Accused TailSpin product, listed herein.4 7. This Court also has personal jurisdiction over WhiteWater because WhiteWater maintains a sales office in Florida.5 8. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and (c), and 28 U.S.C. § 1400(a) because this is an action for patent infringement and WhiteWater may be found in this District based at least on the Florida projects noted above. Venue is also proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and (c), and 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) because this 4 See https://adventureisland.com/water-slides/solar- vortex/#:~:text=America's%20first%20dual%20tailspin%20waterslide&text=Spin%20and%20splash%20at%20 Adventure,through%20two%20open%20tailspin%20features (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 5 See http://aftersales.whitewaterwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/After-Sales-and-Service-Brochure.pdf (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 3 Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 4 of 43 PageID 4 is an action for patent infringement and WhiteWater has committed acts of infringement in this District as described herein. Venue is also proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and (c) because this Court has personal jurisdiction over WhiteWater as noted above, and WhiteWater, as a foreign corporation, is subject to suit in any District in which there is personal jurisdiction over WhiteWater. FACTS GIVING RISE TO THIS ACTION ProSlide is an Innovator and Industry Leader 9. Founded in 1986, ProSlide has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the largest designers and manufacturers of water park rides in North America and the world. Today, ProSlide supplies water rides and related equipment to major entertainment companies such as Walt Disney World, Universal Entertainment, Six Flags Theme Parks, and Paramount Parks. Customers consistently look to ProSlide as the industry pioneer for the freshest, most innovative waterslides available. 10. ProSlide’s innovative product designs have had a significant impact on the water-ride industry. ProSlide’s groundbreaking rides include its PIPELINE inner-tube water rides in 1989; funnel-shaped TORNADO rides in 2003; ROCKET uphill water coasters with booster technology in 2005; TANTRUM-TWIST ride in 2009; “SurpriseAdventure” tubing and “ActiveWaterPlay” structures via its TOPSY-TURVY and RIDEHOUSE rides in 2010; and the ROCKET® and MAMMOTH® water rides incorporating ProSlide’s HydroMAGNETIC® LIM technology in 2011-2015. 11. In recognition of its achievements, industry bodies such as the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (“IAAPA”), the World Waterpark 4 Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 5 of 43 PageID 5 Association (“WWA”), and Amusement Today have consistently recognized ProSlide as an industry pioneer. Indeed, over the past thirty years, ProSlide has received over one hundred awards including IAAPA’s “Best New Water Park Ride,” “Best New Product,” and “Industry Impact” awards, WWA’s “Leading Edge,” “Industry Impact,” “Industry Innovation,” “Best New Water Park Ride,” and “Industry Leadership” awards, and Amusement Today’s “Best Water Ride” and “Best New Water Park Ride” “Golden Ticket” awards, presented to the “Best of the Best” of the amusement industry. In fact, ProSlide is the only company in the world to win the industry’s highest honor–IAAPA’s Impact Award–more than once, and ProSlide has won more “Best Water Ride” awards than all other water slide manufacturers combined.6 ProSlide’s Innovative and Patented FlyingSAUCER®, ORBIT®, and RallyRACER® Technology 12. In some slide-based rides, riders enter the ride at a high elevation and travel to a terminal destination at a lower elevation by sliding along a chute or flume. To facilitate sliding, portions of a water slide may be lubricated with a volume of water. ProSlide’s FlyingSAUCER® technology implements maximum curve speed and centrifugal forces to create an exhilarating ride along the water ride edge for high speeds and thrills at a rate of speed not achievable using their momentum alone. As a result, waterslide rides incorporating ProSlide’s FlyingSAUCER® technology can be built higher, faster, with longer uphill sections, and a higher rider capacity. ProSlide’s ORBIT® technology uses a concave sliding surface to create an exhilarating and unpredictable ride not predetermined by typical flume ride walls or channels. And ProSlide’s RallyRACER® is a slide designed for head-to-head racing 6 See https://www.proslide.com/about/awards/ (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 5 Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 6 of 43 PageID 6 in neighboring lanes, where riders slide down side-by-side tunnels with enclosed flumes building anticipation about the riders position in the race before transitioning into competitive open lane portions with low separators that allow riders to see and hear each other before transitioning again into enclosed flumes. 13. ProSlide has received many awards for its innovative and patented FlyingSAUCER® water-slide technology. ProSlide received IAAPA’s “Best New Water Park Ride” in 2015 and 2019, Amusement Today’s “Golden Ticket Award: Best Water Park Ride” in 2017 and 2019, and WWA’s “Leading Edge Award” in 2016 for its FlyingSAUCER® water rides. WhiteWater’s Infringing TailSpin and Orbiter Water Rides 14. The tremendous popularity and commercial success of ProSlide’s patented FlyingSAUCER® technology has spawned imitators. Chief among these has been WhiteWater, which has been busy copying ProSlide’s FlyingSAUCER® design to sell knock- off saucer waterslides. 15. At the November 2019 IAAPA trade show, located in Orlando, Florida, WhiteWater unveiled, advertised, and promoted its “TailSpin” water ride. The description of the TailSpin ride on WhiteWater’s website7 as installed as part of the “The Washout” water ride at Whirlin’ Waters in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States, confirms that the ride infringes numerous claims of ProSlide’s patents directed to its innovative FlyingSAUCER® technology. In addition to WhiteWater’s infringing TailSpin sale and installation as part of “The Washout” water ride at Whirlin’ Waters in North Charleston, South 7 See https://www.whitewaterwest.com/en/products/water-slides/icons/tailspin/ (last visited Nov. 30, 2020). 6 Case 6:20-cv-02189-CEM-DCI Document 1 Filed 12/01/20 Page 7 of 43 PageID 7 Carolina, ProSlide understands that WhiteWater has at least sold and installed TailSpin water rides in other locations in the United States, including in this District, in Tampa (Adventure Island, “Solar Vortex”)8, and Cherry Valley, Illinois (Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Rockford, “Tidal Wave”).9 16.