affidavit
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UNITED STA TES DISTRICT CO URT SO UTH ER N D ISTRICT OF FLO RIDA PALM BEAC H DIV ISION CA SE NO.:16-8015-CV-Cohn/Seltzer ALAN AM R ON Pro sc Plaintiff,
PLAIN TIFFS' AFFIDA VIT IN SUPPORT O F AM ENDED COM PLAINT
3M M INN ESO TA M ININ G & M ANUFACTER ING COM PAN Y AN D ARTH UR FRY
FILED BY
D. C.
MA2 L2 2116
D efendants.
ST CEVEN M, LM IMORE LERK u s ols' ccl
s.o.oFFti.-wpB. .
PLAIN TIFFS'
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF AM ENDED COM PLAINT A lan Am ron,being duly sworn, deposesand states:
1- lam overthe ageof18 and haveknow ledgeofthe factsstated in thisAffidavit. 2- 1am aprofessionalknow n invcntorforover45 years, with 39 United Statespatents awarded to m e by the United StatesPatentOffice. (SeeExhibitsA and K of
AmendedComplaint)Andmy livelihood and my pcrsonalinvcntorreputation is being D cfam ed and thereby dam agcd directly by theD efendants'on an on going and neverending basisfrom theirfalseclaim softhe Postitnotetradem arked sticky note inventions'inventorship. To m ake m y claim againstthe Defendantsin thiscase
perfectly clear,itisa ttcontinuing Tort''and my causesofaction are tr efam ation''5 ûç FraudulentM isrcpresentation'' tçunclean Hands''and ttNegligence''in the
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continuing daily dam age perpetrated by the Defendants'to m y reputation. (see ExhibitR attachcd to the Am ended Com plaintto show thisasapattern by the Defendantsin stealing inventionsfrom tradeshow s, and theirinequitableconductat thepatentoffice,specifically and intentionally actsofunfaircom petition in gaining
anunfairadvantageinthemarketplacc)3M Company mustbepunishedforstealing inventionsattradeshows, Defam ing the inventor,fraudulently m isrepresenting
inventorship and tmclean handsby way ofinequiGble conductatthe patentofficc simply to gain an unfairadvantagein them arketplace. 3- Thereason Isued 3M in Decem berof1997 wasnotto own the patentsthey m ight have already filed,lknew the patentlaw and lw ould have to have claim ed lnventorship within 12 m onthsofthem filing,and thissuitwasyearsafterthey would have tiled.lonly wanted to stop them 9om falsely claim ing thatthey w ere the inventorofthe sticky note,and to notinterfere with my licensing itto an interested
majorstationerymanufacturer.A competitorof3M s. 4- M yinitialdamagesin 1998(seeExhibitM attachedtoAmended Complaint)seethe letlersto and responsesfrom 3M on, theissuewas1losta$50,000 advanceand 1.5% royalty from Dennison papercompany because 3M wouldn' tallow m e to show that .
stationery manufacturerthe settlem entagreem entthat1had w ith 3M . They wanted to see itortheirlawyersw ould notallow them to m akethe dealwith m e. 3M said no, and llostthe dealand m illionsoffuture dollarsin revenue.
1hadjustbecomeawareoftheirfalseclaimsofinventing stickynotesinOctoberof 1997.M y goalwasto stop them .ltwas scaring away m y potentiallicensees and financialsuccessw ith m y sticky notesinvention called Press-on m em o. 2
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6- They had becn agreeing with m e verbally forw eeks, afterm y serving them w ith a sum m onsand com plaintthatthey w ould notpublicly claim to be the inventorsand l can'tclaim iteither,dueto the Swisspatent3M repeatedly said. (SeeExhibi tsM &Q
attached tothePlaintiffs'AmendedComplaint)Thebasisofthatunderstanding was simple,sincc they claim ed lnorthcy inventcd ittirstthereby convincing m cthatthe Sw isspatentin 1968 precluded both ofus, Iagreed to settle relying solely based on theirword. They are 3M whywouldtheymisleadorlieto me?(seeExhibitR .
attachedtotheAmended Complaint) 7- So 1agreed to withdraw thecase and they agreed to give m em y legalcostsof
$12,000 and they nor1wasgoingtopublicly discloseorclaim Inventorship ofthe sticky note.
8- Yearshad goneby and lhadn'tseen orheard any m oreof3M published claim sof Inventorship,norhad lm ade any published claim sofInventorship thinking thatw as ouragreed tmderstanding thatlead to the 1998 agreem ent. 9- Suddenly in and around 201l, around the 30th yearanniversary ofthcstick' y note postitnoteinvention,3M suddenly m akesthispublic published worldwideclaim of
lnventorship.(See ExhibitA attached totheAmended Complaint)Iwassurprised and thoughtwe had a clearunderstand forour 1998 agreem ent. ldug outand reviewed my 1998 setllem entagreem entto m y surpriseitdidn'tsay they specifically
w ouldn' tclaim lnventorship nordid itsay specifk ally lcouldn' tclaim Inventorship. lt w asonly in ourunderstanding ofthe agreem entneitherofuscould orwould claim
lnventorship.Again lhad relied on theirword and cxplanationsthey gavem e in
writing.See(attached in ExhibitM oftheAmendedComplaint)thecorrespondences
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between 3M counseland myselfwhereby shewasclearly explaining why 3M and 1 didn'tinventthe adhesive notefirst. ltwasW alterin 1968 who wasfirst. 1relied on thatto settleour1997 litigation. (seeExhibitQ att achedto theAmended Complaint) 10-Now Ifeltthatsince they breached ourintended im plied settlem entagreem entand understanding,lwasfreeto publicly claim lnventorship asw ell. 11-lfeltthe 1968 SwisspatentwasnotwhatIhad invented in 1973 because itcalled for apenuanentadhesiveon a notepad.Based on the claim sand descriptionsin that Swisspatentitw asnotsticky note reusable rem ovable reposition-able winner pad thatisthe sticky notethe world hascom eto love. 12-M y invention wasa sticky note combination reusable reposition- able end product. l3-3M Spencerpatentin 1972 wasonly foratacky adhesive spray, no notepad orsheets w asm entioned orclaim cd anywhere in hispatent. 14-Taking allthese factsinto consideration Iconcluded thatm y combination ''sticky tacky reusablereposition able adhesive and a notepad utility''invention w asthe firstto inventitsutility in the world.
15-Only any daim soflnventorship from m e asan individualinventorlanded on deaf ears.No publicationscared to hearaboutit. ' I' he world only heard the false and m isleading claimsoflnventorship from 3M
.
l6-Thatkilled any chancesofa very luerative sutionery industry license orfruitful ''inventorslife''m em oirbook and m ovie dealallpotentially worth m illionsof
dollars.(Aswastheextremely successfulinventorofthefloormopandclothes hangerm em oirbook and m ovieJO Y staring big Hollywood starslikeJennifer Lawrence,RobertDeN iro and Bradley Cooper.
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17-Again 3M prevented m c from prospering from m y life'swork ofinventions. Giving m e abad nam e by falsely claim ing to inventthe m osticonic sttionery invention combination sticky noteson theplanet.
18-1tried diligently since2011 afterlearning of3M breach ofourunderstanding and agreem ent,to publicly claim m y presson m em o Postitnote sticky notesproducts
lnventorship.To salvage my inventing lifeand inventing career. 19-To Date theirisnotonc published article in anationally recognized newspaperor magazine,stating that1am the inventorofthe sticky note. (SeeExhibitN att achedto
theAmendedComplaintonthetalkpageofW ikipedia)W hereby W ikipediaeditors argued am ongstthem selvesthatthe stick' y note invention claim sofAm ron can notbe
m entioned in thePostltnotc page even asa controversy untiland lm lessitis published in a nationally recognized newspaperorm agazine to reference itto. Adding fttrtherdam age to Amrons'plight.
20-Forover20yearson andoff3M andArthurFry(employeescientistat3M )has falsely,m aliciously and publicly claim ed to haveinvcntcd the com bination sticlty note stationery product-thatthey tradem arked and callPressn'pcelin 1977 then Post-itnotes in 1980.ArthurFry waseven inducted into the inventorshalloffam e, forhisclaim ing to bethe inventorofthe com bination sticky notePostitnote, hehas no otherinventionsand orpatentsto hisnam e. 21-Yetin repeatcd lettcrsto Alan Am ron from 3M Corporatecounselsin 1998 and again in 201l,3M hasrepresented thatthe Sw issin 1968 invented the combination adhesive and papernote pad -notAmron, not3M and notArthurFry.They even provided copiesofthat1968 Swisspatentto Alan Am ron in English both in 1997 and 5
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again in 20l1 ' rhisw asobviously to getA mron to settleon the 1998 litigation, and again to dissuadeA mron from suing in 201l. (Factisthe 1968 Swisspatentison a perm anentadhesivenotespad no one would use and A mron'sison thecombination
sticky note pad thateveryone isin factusing worldw ide today. (seeExhibitQ
attachedto theAmended Complaint) W as3M Iying then,or are they Iying now ?
22-Fearing the6 yearsstatue oflim itationson fraud w asapproaching, ltiled my fraudulentrepresentation case in the United StatesFederalCourtSouthern Districtof Florida on January 25,2016 to presel' ve my legalrights, and asacause ofaction and claim added çf ontinualTort''and tr efamation''dueto thedam age the Defendants' continuc doing to m y reputation,itisoccurring on a continuing and daily base. (seea
todays2-27-2016Googlesearch ExhibitP attached totheAmendedComplaint). 23-NY and M innesota statue oflim ittionson intentionalfraud and deceitto gain an
unfairadvantage in them arketplace is 6yearsfrom becom ing awareofthe fraud. 1 firstbecam e awareofthe fraud in 201land thisfraud by the Defendantsison going to thisday. Fraud:
6 yearsN .Y .Civ.Prac.L.& R.ss213 Fraud:
6 yearsM innCiv.Prac.ss541.05(6)
lnjurytopersonproperty: 6yearsM inn Civ.Prac.ss541.05(4) fraudulentm isrepresentation 6
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lnstanceoffaslï-çqtatçmen!where(1)thep-grl y makingthestatementisawarethatitis -
falseordisregardsthepossibility ofitbeing false, (2)thepartymakingthestatement doesso to induceanotherparty to enterinto aK ntract, and(3)theotherpartyenters
the contractasaresultofthe statem entand consequentlv suffersaloss. 24-Thetrue story ofhow the sticky note wasinvented by Alan Am ron in 1973 and offered in com m erce in 1974. A lan wasworking in hisgarage, losttrack oftime and realized he wasrunning late.
He had an appointment,butheneeded to leave a mcssage forhiswife. These were the daysbeforecellphones,beepers,and Blackbenies. Textm essaging wasthirty yearsinto the future. lfyou wanted to leave a textm essage, cavem en oftheday w rotc with pen orpencilthe lettersby hand on a slip ofpaperand Scotch taped itto a surface.Theproblem w aswhere to leavethism essage. W here would she look? She could go anywherein thehouse. The closetdoorwhere the coatswere keptw asa possibility. Itwasa warm O ctober,though;she m ightnotbew earing a coat, and if she werecarrying bundlesshe m ightnotsee thc closetdooron herway to thekitchen. Thefrontdoorwould telegraph to thew orld thatno onewashom e. Shem ight
bypassthe dining room table and go to the kitchen. ' l'he kitchen refrigeratorwasthe bestbet. Surely she'd notice a sheetofpapertaped to a big white rectangularbox. Buttherew asno Scotch tape. There wasa rollofnice gooey two inch thick duct tape in thegarage,buthe thoughtbetterofthispotentialimpropriety, which no doubt w ould have leh residue behind thatcould only be rem ovcd with som e toxicsolvent. Again,he did a once around in search ofScotch tapcormagnets.
25-Then,impulsively,a plan illum inated in hism ind and he placed a stick ofgum in his
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mouth. He chewed whileglancing atthe clock. He waslate,growing laterby thc second,and chewed m ore frantically. Then he removed from hism outh atiny piece ofgum notm uch biggerthan am atch head. He kneaded itw ith som edustso itw ould lose som e stickiness,butnotall. He squashed hisnoteinto thegum on the
refrigerator,gave ita few testpulls,sm iled, and w as off. 26-Laterthatevening,hiswifew asim pressed with threethings:thathccared enough to leave a note in the firstplace- many m en w ouldn't- secondly, thathe'd leftitin the perfectlocation,and thirdly,thatthe note hadn'tfallen to the floorwhcreasthegum peeled offthe refrigeratorw ithoutleaving am ess;and itdid sm ellabitlike Spearm int.
27-Butitalso sm elled likea product. W hatifthere were a pad ofpaperthathad som e kind ofScotch tape-like sticky materialon the back? N otsticky like Scotch tape though,som ething with a lesseradhesive quality- som ething more like drafting tape- something form ulated to be removable and re-stickablew ithoutleaving a residue orm ess. The wheelswerettlrning and A lan gotto work. 28-Hebegan collecting and testing adhesives. He added solventsto rubbercem entto m akeitlesssticky. He tested the spray m ountartistsuseform ounting boards. He tested every type of>pehe could fmd. Finally he converged on the bestformulation. He senta sample to a chem istin Chicago who said he could m akethe m ixttzre. That
wasonNovember14,1973.(seeExbibitD attachedto theAmended Complaint)By the end ofthe month,thechem istquoted Alan a price forthisproprietary concoction. ln December,A lan contacted a printerwho would notonly printthem cm os, but connected Alan with an artistwho produced cam era-ready artwork forthe m em o 8
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sam ples,along w ith advertising brochuresand the specially printed envelopsfora
massmailing.(seeExhibitF attached totheAmendedComplaint) 29-ln the m eantim e,thcchem istm ixed up a gallon ofthe sticlty adhesive, which Alan broughtto a Long Island manufacturerwho m ade aerosolcansforcleaning supplies. The adhesive was5lled in pressurized 7 ounce cans, and thisiswhatA lan used to hand spray the tirst2500 sam plesoftheproducthe called thePress- on M em o. This
w astheworld'sfirststick-on repositionablerem ovable and reusablem em o com bination sticky note.
30-Alan purchased a Professionalm ailing listofcom paniesand top executivesin the stationery industry.By Febnmry, 1974 he wasready forhism assm ailing, with
preprinted nam ed and addressed perm anentpeeln stick m ailing labels, preprinted specialm ailing envelops,productadvertising brochures, and m ostim portantly,the
actualPress-on M em o com bination sticky note productsamplesthem selves. He dropped everything offatam assm ailing com pany- alm ost200 poundsof m aterial- and they sm ffed the envelopes, completc with nam es,addresscs,and
postage.Everything wasmailcd,andfmgerswerecrossed.(seeExhibitF attachedto theAm endedComplaint) 31-Alan opened a Press-on M em o com pany USPS postoftk ebox in M errick, Long lsland New York,then becam e incorporated with PressOn M emo nam e in the State ofNew York so he could do businessselling hiscom bination sticky notepads. (see
ExhibitE attachedto theAmended Complaint) 32-A round thistime,Alan mcta m an namcd Jeffery Brow n, who agreed to fm ancially
investinthetledglingcompany.(seeExhibitG attachedheretotheAmended
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Complaint)Thiswouldpay forthemarketing and anexhibitor'sb00th atthe upcom ing invention show,which w asto be held in the m ain ballroom atthe
AmericanaHotel(now theSheridan)inNew YorkCity.n iswouldbeashow that manymajormanufacturersattendtofindnew andinnovativeproducts.Alanwason aroll.Hewouldbeshowingthree(3)new productsattheshow.OnewasthePressOn M em o;the sccond wasthe sticlty adhesive itself, sold in 7 ounce spray canscalled
Stick-EM -UP;and thethird wasabattery powercd watergtm he'd recently builta prototype ofin thatgarage.
33-There werehundreds ofboothsatthe inventorsshow , featuring everything from the zany to thepractical. Butone m an'szany isanothcrm an'spractical, and protitable.
Atthe show ,A fam ousNew York City television newsreporterfrom W OR's Channel9 N ews,wasm aking theroundswith hiscam eram an and sound m an. M ost inventorswould have given theirrightarm to be featured on television new s. They stopped by Alan'sarea. n e b00th nextto Alan'swasm armed by a guy who had invented a toiletfordogs. ltwasa six foottallbox thcsizeofarefrigeratorin which the dog w ould,itwasbelicved,voluntarily enter, do hisbusiness- and then the
ow nerwould flush itwhen thehappy dog exitsto siton the couch and, pcrhaps,read thenewspaperwhile sm oking a pipe. They believed every dog ownerwould have OnQ.
34-û1...And therew ere silly inventions,''Thefam ousNew York N ewsreportersaid, thus com pleted a previousthoughtwhile holding Alan'sw atergun, çllike thissub-m achine
gun thatrunson batteries,''completewith a m ocking giggle in hisvoice causing a deliberatesm tterin the word ttnm s''ashepressed thetriggerand shotwaterinto the 10
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camera.(see Exhibit115 attached toAmended Complaint)Aspeopledomoreoften than not,he gotitcom pletely w rong. W hile people lovetheirpetsdearly, dogs
simply aren'thum an and can'tbeexpected to behave like hum ans. People,on the otherhand,liketo play with waterguns. A lan'sEtsilly''battery operated watergun wenton to m ake hundredsofm illionsofdollarsworldwide. 35-W hile the fam ousNew York TV New sreportertook no noticeofthe Press-on M em o sticky notesorStick-EM UP spray sticky adhcsive, hundredsofcompaniesdid. One ofthese com panieshappened to be the M innesota M ining and M anufacturing Company,which the world know sas3M . Alan gavethem m any sam plesofthe
Press-on M em o com bination sticlty notesasw cllasa can ofthe stick'y spray adhesive. The m en from 3M said they would getback to Alan afterthey'd evaluated hiscom bination sticky note invention. They neverdid getback to Alan, so Alan
calledthem.(seeExhibitR attachedtoAmendedComplaintthemostrecentDistrict Courtcaseand itssubsequentAppealwhereboth Courtsfound and then affirm ed the 3M Company liable in stealing an invention idea from a tradeshow and their inequitable conductbefore thepatentoffk e in notproperly reporting itoneyear later.EXACTLY THE SAM E CHARGES 1M AK E TODAY . 3M showsa pattern ofstealing inventionsfrom trade show sand inequitableconduct atthe patcntoffk e to gain an unfairadvantage in the m arketplaceand they m ustbe punished forit. 36-A lan wastold thathisproducthad been evaluated by several3M departments. The .
generalconsensusw asthatthe Press-on M em o w ould be way too expensive to m ake, thatthe glue would gum up the m achinery and couldn'tbe applied by any known
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process,Alan attem pted to logically addresseach problem individually, relating each
to pre-existingproductsthatcould bemade(likethemanufactureoflinedpaperpads andmasking tape)which,whencombinedtogetherwith stick'y gluewould produce theproduct. Theim pression A lan gotwasthat3M feltitwastheoretically impossiblc to do,and thiscom pany thatpridesitselfon ilm ovation and theability to think outside thebox sim ply wasn'tinterested. Alan thoughtthe productwasdead for3M
.
37-Buthe stillconsidered the inventorshow to be a success. Potentialcustom ersdid take and orbuy samplesofA lan'scombination sticky notes, butm ostshied away from the Press-on M em o padsbecausethey weretoo expensive. Afterall,Alan w as m aking each one by hand-spraying thepaperwith hissticky adhesive in agarage withoutventilation,then assem bling each pad by hand-aligning thepaper, one on top ofanother. Forthisto w ork asaviableproduct, itw ould have to be m assproduced by machinely. Thism eanteitherlicensing itto a com pany with the resourcesto
develop itproperly,orto develop and build the m achineshim self 38-Butthe spray sticky adhesivewasadifferentstory, and itbegan to 1keoff. Alan had hisChicago chem istsend the formulato Rite O ff, the com pany in Plainview,Long lsland thathad m ade thefirstsam pleswhich A lan broughtto the show . This
company m adeclcaning chcm icals,and they had a sm alllab where they could m ix thecomponents. They gotthe form ulation rightand becam e Alan'ssupplier. They would putthe sticky adhesive in cans,placethe fourcolorStick-Em up labelon the can,and box them up in casesof 12. 39-A thorough apatentsearch in 1973 would have uncovered a 1968 Sw isspatentfora
somewhatsimilarnoteproduct. Butthisnoteproduct(asunderstood from itsclaim s)
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w asspecifically intended to notberepositioned and itleftaresidue. ltwasforan adhesive-backed note paperforone time usc only. Had Alan filed forapatentthere would have been enough variation be> een hisPress-on M em o combination sticky glue and note paperand the Swisspatentthathewould have secured the intellectual patentproperty rights. 40-The combination sticky notethen called Press-on mem o, had been publicly displayed, putinto useand putin to com m erce in the over2,000 piece professionalnational
stationery industry m ailer,and atthcN ew Y ork City nationalinvention show , and A lan had already sold and gave away severalsam plesofit. Thism eantthatlegally the clock had started,and Alan had exactly one yearto apply fora patentbefore his ideawould enterthepublicdom ain.Patentlaw isquite clearon this. From the
momentyou publicly display oroffertosell(putintousein commerce)yourbetter m ousetrap,ifyou have notfiled fora patentwithin oneyear,anyone on earth can build yourbettcrm ouse trap,and thcre isn'ta damn thing you can do aboutit. 41-And 3M wasbusy,perhapsw ith a littledivine intervention. ln 1976 they were in the m idstoftestmarketing thcirown sticky note productthcy called thePressn'peel, a f' u11two yearsaherAlan had shown 3M and given 3M severalsamples ofhis .
combination sticky noteshecalled Press-on m em o. Apparently 3M had solved the
technicalproblemsformerly insunuountable.Company lore(myth)hasitthatArthur Fry firstbegan work on thisstick'y noteproductin 1974. Hc gottheidea in church,
which isa wholesom e incubatorfornew ideas. Artsang in the choir, and m arked the hymnshe sang with stripsofpaper. He needed aw ay to keep the m arkerssecure in his songbook withoutfalling out.ltw asthen thatherealized heneeded am ild
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adhesive to hold thepaperin placc,and perhapsthism ighteven have other applications.
42-And so began a greatinnovativeforce within 3M to reinventthe already-invented by Alan Am ron and w hatem erged w asin 1980 the sticky note wasrenam cd by 3M as the Post-itnote. 43-To thisday the combination sticky note invention rem ainsin the public dom ain.
Tradem arksarea differentstory,and 3M hastradem arked theirversion ofthe
product.FirstPrcssn'peelthen Post-itnotc. ButaftcrAlan failed to timely patenthis invention,no onc else could patentiteither. Noteven 3M .Processesand m achinesto
m ake itcan bepatented,butnotthe reposition-able rcusablecombination sticky notes productitself.Am ron nevergave up orlostthe inventorship rightsto thisinvention. 44-ln 1978 Pressn'peelby 354 sticky noteswentnational. By thistim e,how ever,A lan
had sold hislastPress-on m em o combination sticky note,and 7 oz cansofStick-EM UP spray stick'y adhesive,and m oved on,to Hollywood,to m anage the careerof television and m ovie starKristy M cNichol,RobertGuillaum e and M uhamm ad Ali. 45-The story between Alan Am ron and 3M doesn'tpick up again until1997, whileA lan waswatching thenewson TV with hisyoung children they saw an astronautin the
space shuttlewriting anoteand sticking itonto hisconsole.N o Gpes, no pinsand no magnets.A lan'skidsand he were am azed to see thathisPress-on m em o stick'y note
sheetswasbeing used in space on nationaltelevision. Hisson saysiçisn'tthatyour sticky notesinvention?''Alan said yes. Hisson said tthow can they do thaf'.
46-Having been involved in severalpatentlitigation casesw ith hisbattery operated water glm s,Alan knew how to write,file and serve a Federalpatentcase against3M . But
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firstAlan had to send 3M a cease and desistletterviareturn receipt. Giving 3M the .
10 daysto respond,and ifnotAlan w asgoing to file the summ onsand complaintin FederalCourt. 10 dayshad pastand no response cam e from 3M whatsoever. Alan wrote,filed and served a com plaintthatheld nothing back. Alan iigured by putting everything irlto the com plaint3M lawyersw ould seethathew asin facttheinventor ofthe com bination sticlty notehe called Press-on m em o hehad putinto usefirst, in comm erce,and gave samplesto 3M executivesin 1974. Alan w asright,histrade secrctviolationsclaim ed in hisFederalcomplaintwassettled by 3M w ithin weeks from itsfiling date. Although theamountofthe check from 3N1to Am ron in the .
settlem entwasonly forhislegalfeesof$12,000(in todaysmoney that's $70,000.00) A lan washappy to berecognized by the large company. n inking his settlem ent agreem entwith 3M prevented both him and 3M from evercom ing outastheinventor
ofthe com bination sticky noteproductknown today asthe Post-itnote. 47-A lan today fcclsbecause 3M hasbreached the intentand understandingsthatlead to the 1998 settlem entagreem entthe world should know these factsaboutw ho actually invented thc m osticonic stationery producton theplanet. lts'true inventorAlan Am ron. 48-Theinvention is:
Com bination sticky note 49-Theinventoris: Alan Am ron
50-N am esit'sbeen called: A lan Amron -Presson m em o 1973 15
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3M Company -Pressn'peel1977 3M Company -Postitnote 1980 51-W hy wasitinvented:
To m ake life fasterand easierin a personsbusy life. Thereby elim inating the need for scotch tape,pinsorm agnetsto posta note. W hy are you suing now ? Because in 20l1rightthnlto today 2016,lpersonally heard and stillhearin the new s
that3M and ArthurFry again claimed to be theinvcntorofthe combination sticky notethey happen to now callPost-itnotessince 1980 butfirststarted calling them Pressn'peelin 1977.Sam e sticky notesinvention thatwascalled by Am ron Press-on m emo in 1973.
And since the stam te oflim itationson filing offraud and breach ofagreem entcases in the statesofM innesota and New York is6 yearsfrom the datethe accusersfirst learned ofthefraud,1had only onc yearleft.To securem y legalrightsto sue, and now adding to m y A mended Com plaintthe tEcontinuing Tort''and ttDefam ation'' dam age to m y reputation by the Defendantsison going even today.
52-3M isnow sayingthey (Spencer)inventedaversion ofastick'y glueadhesivein 1970, therefore they claim ed the sticky note.However,in the new sand in all3M company public statementsthey clearly state thatitw as3M scientistArthttrFry and 3M who
invented thecombination sticky and note by accidentin church in 1974. (SeeExhibit
A attachedtotheAmendedComplaint) ''Arethey lying now ,orwere they lying then?'' 53-3M claim stheform ula isthe Postitnote invention: 16
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Nomattertheformulationofthestickyadhesiveglueused(that'sjustamatterofuser preferenceanduscracceptnce)good-betler-bestorworst.Anyacceptedadhesive by the end usercombination sticky note isthe invention. 54-ln 1970,a 3M scientistnam ed Spencerinvented and patented a version ofa sticky adhesive gluethat3M planned to use in spray cans. No where in the entire 3M patent dose itstate,describe,discussand oreven m ention the com bination sticky adhesive
and thc noteasonenew invention product. 55-Forexam ple illustration by com parison only:
That'slike Firestoneinventcd one version ofthe tire, (3M inventedoneversion ofthe
stickyglue)and claimedthatthey also inventedthecombinationtiresonan automobile(like3M claimedtheyalso invented thecombinationofsticky adhesive onnotes)becausetheirversionofthetireinvention can beused on theautomobile
combinationinvention.(Becausethestickyadhesivecould beused onthestickynote combination invention) 56-Firestone and 3M bot. h failed to m ention,describe, discussorclaim anywhere in their
patentsthe com bination ofthe tire and thecarastheirinvention, orthe com bination ofthe sticky adhesive and thenote asan invention. 57-ln 1973 Am ronsan inventor,independently had developed hisown accepubleversion stick'y adhesive forhisspecific stationery com bination invention productneed. The stick.vnote combination invention.
58-3M and ArthurFry have in 1997 and again in 2011 and stilltoday in 2016 falsely and m isleadingly claim ed and claim in adsand in public statem entsthatthey are in fact
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the rightfulinventorsofthe sticky note invention thatthcy firstcalled Pressn'peelin 1977 and renam ed itPost-itnotesin 1980. 59- ln patentlaw ,the successofan invention in them arketplace ultim ately determ ines theutility,newness,novelty and uniquenessofit. There isno betterexam pleofthat than w ith m y 1973 com bination sticky note invention, no m atterwhatanyonc calls it, Press-on m emo by me in 1973,Pressn'peelby 3M in 1977 orPost-itnoteby 3M in
1980,theworld hasvoted.(SeeExhibitO attached toAmended Complaint) USPTO rule 56,as a m atteroflaw,aII3M revenues earned on Post-itnote related patents
overtheIast40yearsm ustbeturned overtoAlan Amron.PTO Rule56 (a)(b)hasno statuesoflim itations. O nce conceived and putinto com m erce inventorship belongsto only oneperson,the inventor,with orw ithouta patent.
Thesimpleexplanationoftheentirestickysituationisasfollows: 1- ln 1968 in Sw itzerland,W alterinvented the im practicalcom bination adhesivew ith paper pad. 2-ln 1970 Spenccr/3M invented a sticky glueadhesivc. Notm entioning orincluding in his descriptionsto the patentoffice the com bination papernotepadsatall.
3-ln 1973 Amron invented the m ostpracticalcombination sticky glue and paperpad. W hich the world hascom e to know and love. 4-ln 1974 3W Fry invented the sam epracticalcom bination sticky glue and paperpad, asAmron did oneyearearlier.
3M /spencer/Fry have the leastrightto claim lnventorship ofthe Pressn'peel-Post-itnote Sticky note. W hereasAlan Am ron clearly invented the firstSticky Note combination invention thatthe world
now know sand lovescalled thePost-itnote. 18
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(SeeExhibitO attached toAm ended Complaint)Proofofthe Stickynotesinvcntionsuccess in them arketplace.ûçW hich ofthese com m on oftk e tools isthebestinnovation?'' ln sum m ary,the inherentrightto inventorship ofthc sticky note invention in 1973 and
today in 2016 rightfully belongsto Alan Am ron, me and lrespectfully requestfrom thisCourt
DECLAREATO RY JUDG EM ENT statitlg the sam e and prohibiting 3M Company and its' employees from everclaim ing invcntorship ofitagain.
A LAN A M RON STATE OF FLORIDA CO UNTY OF PALM BEA CH : Sworn to oraffm ned and signed b
eforemeonm lcck 5W.zolfbyALAN AMRON. .* %e..x. svv1 MYcovL u:sllMc vlssloN4FF!.*i.' i
UNITED STA TES DISTRICT CO URT SO UTH ER N D ISTRICT OF FLO RIDA PALM BEAC H DIV ISION CA SE NO.:16-8015-CV-Cohn/Seltzer ALAN AM R ON Pro sc Plaintiff,
PLAIN TIFFS' AFFIDA VIT IN SUPPORT O F AM ENDED COM PLAINT
3M M INN ESO TA M ININ G & M ANUFACTER ING COM PAN Y AN D ARTH UR FRY
FILED BY
D. C.
MA2 L2 2116
D efendants.
ST CEVEN M, LM IMORE LERK u s ols' ccl
s.o.oFFti.-wpB. .
PLAIN TIFFS'
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF AM ENDED COM PLAINT A lan Am ron,being duly sworn, deposesand states:
1- lam overthe ageof18 and haveknow ledgeofthe factsstated in thisAffidavit. 2- 1am aprofessionalknow n invcntorforover45 years, with 39 United Statespatents awarded to m e by the United StatesPatentOffice. (SeeExhibitsA and K of
AmendedComplaint)Andmy livelihood and my pcrsonalinvcntorreputation is being D cfam ed and thereby dam agcd directly by theD efendants'on an on going and neverending basisfrom theirfalseclaim softhe Postitnotetradem arked sticky note inventions'inventorship. To m ake m y claim againstthe Defendantsin thiscase
perfectly clear,itisa ttcontinuing Tort''and my causesofaction are tr efam ation''5 ûç FraudulentM isrcpresentation'' tçunclean Hands''and ttNegligence''in the
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continuing daily dam age perpetrated by the Defendants'to m y reputation. (see ExhibitR attachcd to the Am ended Com plaintto show thisasapattern by the Defendantsin stealing inventionsfrom tradeshow s, and theirinequitableconductat thepatentoffice,specifically and intentionally actsofunfaircom petition in gaining
anunfairadvantageinthemarketplacc)3M Company mustbepunishedforstealing inventionsattradeshows, Defam ing the inventor,fraudulently m isrepresenting
inventorship and tmclean handsby way ofinequiGble conductatthe patentofficc simply to gain an unfairadvantagein them arketplace. 3- Thereason Isued 3M in Decem berof1997 wasnotto own the patentsthey m ight have already filed,lknew the patentlaw and lw ould have to have claim ed lnventorship within 12 m onthsofthem filing,and thissuitwasyearsafterthey would have tiled.lonly wanted to stop them 9om falsely claim ing thatthey w ere the inventorofthe sticky note,and to notinterfere with my licensing itto an interested
majorstationerymanufacturer.A competitorof3M s. 4- M yinitialdamagesin 1998(seeExhibitM attachedtoAmended Complaint)seethe letlersto and responsesfrom 3M on, theissuewas1losta$50,000 advanceand 1.5% royalty from Dennison papercompany because 3M wouldn' tallow m e to show that .
stationery manufacturerthe settlem entagreem entthat1had w ith 3M . They wanted to see itortheirlawyersw ould notallow them to m akethe dealwith m e. 3M said no, and llostthe dealand m illionsoffuture dollarsin revenue.
1hadjustbecomeawareoftheirfalseclaimsofinventing stickynotesinOctoberof 1997.M y goalwasto stop them .ltwas scaring away m y potentiallicensees and financialsuccessw ith m y sticky notesinvention called Press-on m em o. 2
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6- They had becn agreeing with m e verbally forw eeks, afterm y serving them w ith a sum m onsand com plaintthatthey w ould notpublicly claim to be the inventorsand l can'tclaim iteither,dueto the Swisspatent3M repeatedly said. (SeeExhibi tsM &Q
attached tothePlaintiffs'AmendedComplaint)Thebasisofthatunderstanding was simple,sincc they claim ed lnorthcy inventcd ittirstthereby convincing m cthatthe Sw isspatentin 1968 precluded both ofus, Iagreed to settle relying solely based on theirword. They are 3M whywouldtheymisleadorlieto me?(seeExhibitR .
attachedtotheAmended Complaint) 7- So 1agreed to withdraw thecase and they agreed to give m em y legalcostsof
$12,000 and they nor1wasgoingtopublicly discloseorclaim Inventorship ofthe sticky note.
8- Yearshad goneby and lhadn'tseen orheard any m oreof3M published claim sof Inventorship,norhad lm ade any published claim sofInventorship thinking thatw as ouragreed tmderstanding thatlead to the 1998 agreem ent. 9- Suddenly in and around 201l, around the 30th yearanniversary ofthcstick' y note postitnoteinvention,3M suddenly m akesthispublic published worldwideclaim of
lnventorship.(See ExhibitA attached totheAmended Complaint)Iwassurprised and thoughtwe had a clearunderstand forour 1998 agreem ent. ldug outand reviewed my 1998 setllem entagreem entto m y surpriseitdidn'tsay they specifically
w ouldn' tclaim lnventorship nordid itsay specifk ally lcouldn' tclaim Inventorship. lt w asonly in ourunderstanding ofthe agreem entneitherofuscould orwould claim
lnventorship.Again lhad relied on theirword and cxplanationsthey gavem e in
writing.See(attached in ExhibitM oftheAmendedComplaint)thecorrespondences
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between 3M counseland myselfwhereby shewasclearly explaining why 3M and 1 didn'tinventthe adhesive notefirst. ltwasW alterin 1968 who wasfirst. 1relied on thatto settleour1997 litigation. (seeExhibitQ att achedto theAmended Complaint) 10-Now Ifeltthatsince they breached ourintended im plied settlem entagreem entand understanding,lwasfreeto publicly claim lnventorship asw ell. 11-lfeltthe 1968 SwisspatentwasnotwhatIhad invented in 1973 because itcalled for apenuanentadhesiveon a notepad.Based on the claim sand descriptionsin that Swisspatentitw asnotsticky note reusable rem ovable reposition-able winner pad thatisthe sticky notethe world hascom eto love. 12-M y invention wasa sticky note combination reusable reposition- able end product. l3-3M Spencerpatentin 1972 wasonly foratacky adhesive spray, no notepad orsheets w asm entioned orclaim cd anywhere in hispatent. 14-Taking allthese factsinto consideration Iconcluded thatm y combination ''sticky tacky reusablereposition able adhesive and a notepad utility''invention w asthe firstto inventitsutility in the world.
15-Only any daim soflnventorship from m e asan individualinventorlanded on deaf ears.No publicationscared to hearaboutit. ' I' he world only heard the false and m isleading claimsoflnventorship from 3M
.
l6-Thatkilled any chancesofa very luerative sutionery industry license orfruitful ''inventorslife''m em oirbook and m ovie dealallpotentially worth m illionsof
dollars.(Aswastheextremely successfulinventorofthefloormopandclothes hangerm em oirbook and m ovieJO Y staring big Hollywood starslikeJennifer Lawrence,RobertDeN iro and Bradley Cooper.
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17-Again 3M prevented m c from prospering from m y life'swork ofinventions. Giving m e abad nam e by falsely claim ing to inventthe m osticonic sttionery invention combination sticky noteson theplanet.
18-1tried diligently since2011 afterlearning of3M breach ofourunderstanding and agreem ent,to publicly claim m y presson m em o Postitnote sticky notesproducts
lnventorship.To salvage my inventing lifeand inventing career. 19-To Date theirisnotonc published article in anationally recognized newspaperor magazine,stating that1am the inventorofthe sticky note. (SeeExhibitN att achedto
theAmendedComplaintonthetalkpageofW ikipedia)W hereby W ikipediaeditors argued am ongstthem selvesthatthe stick' y note invention claim sofAm ron can notbe
m entioned in thePostltnotc page even asa controversy untiland lm lessitis published in a nationally recognized newspaperorm agazine to reference itto. Adding fttrtherdam age to Amrons'plight.
20-Forover20yearson andoff3M andArthurFry(employeescientistat3M )has falsely,m aliciously and publicly claim ed to haveinvcntcd the com bination sticlty note stationery product-thatthey tradem arked and callPressn'pcelin 1977 then Post-itnotes in 1980.ArthurFry waseven inducted into the inventorshalloffam e, forhisclaim ing to bethe inventorofthe com bination sticky notePostitnote, hehas no otherinventionsand orpatentsto hisnam e. 21-Yetin repeatcd lettcrsto Alan Am ron from 3M Corporatecounselsin 1998 and again in 201l,3M hasrepresented thatthe Sw issin 1968 invented the combination adhesive and papernote pad -notAmron, not3M and notArthurFry.They even provided copiesofthat1968 Swisspatentto Alan Am ron in English both in 1997 and 5
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again in 20l1 ' rhisw asobviously to getA mron to settleon the 1998 litigation, and again to dissuadeA mron from suing in 201l. (Factisthe 1968 Swisspatentison a perm anentadhesivenotespad no one would use and A mron'sison thecombination
sticky note pad thateveryone isin factusing worldw ide today. (seeExhibitQ
attachedto theAmended Complaint) W as3M Iying then,or are they Iying now ?
22-Fearing the6 yearsstatue oflim itationson fraud w asapproaching, ltiled my fraudulentrepresentation case in the United StatesFederalCourtSouthern Districtof Florida on January 25,2016 to presel' ve my legalrights, and asacause ofaction and claim added çf ontinualTort''and tr efamation''dueto thedam age the Defendants' continuc doing to m y reputation,itisoccurring on a continuing and daily base. (seea
todays2-27-2016Googlesearch ExhibitP attached totheAmendedComplaint). 23-NY and M innesota statue oflim ittionson intentionalfraud and deceitto gain an
unfairadvantage in them arketplace is 6yearsfrom becom ing awareofthe fraud. 1 firstbecam e awareofthe fraud in 201land thisfraud by the Defendantsison going to thisday. Fraud:
6 yearsN .Y .Civ.Prac.L.& R.ss213 Fraud:
6 yearsM innCiv.Prac.ss541.05(6)
lnjurytopersonproperty: 6yearsM inn Civ.Prac.ss541.05(4) fraudulentm isrepresentation 6
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lnstanceoffaslï-çqtatçmen!where(1)thep-grl y makingthestatementisawarethatitis -
falseordisregardsthepossibility ofitbeing false, (2)thepartymakingthestatement doesso to induceanotherparty to enterinto aK ntract, and(3)theotherpartyenters
the contractasaresultofthe statem entand consequentlv suffersaloss. 24-Thetrue story ofhow the sticky note wasinvented by Alan Am ron in 1973 and offered in com m erce in 1974. A lan wasworking in hisgarage, losttrack oftime and realized he wasrunning late.
He had an appointment,butheneeded to leave a mcssage forhiswife. These were the daysbeforecellphones,beepers,and Blackbenies. Textm essaging wasthirty yearsinto the future. lfyou wanted to leave a textm essage, cavem en oftheday w rotc with pen orpencilthe lettersby hand on a slip ofpaperand Scotch taped itto a surface.Theproblem w aswhere to leavethism essage. W here would she look? She could go anywherein thehouse. The closetdoorwhere the coatswere keptw asa possibility. Itwasa warm O ctober,though;she m ightnotbew earing a coat, and if she werecarrying bundlesshe m ightnotsee thc closetdooron herway to thekitchen. Thefrontdoorwould telegraph to thew orld thatno onewashom e. Shem ight
bypassthe dining room table and go to the kitchen. ' l'he kitchen refrigeratorwasthe bestbet. Surely she'd notice a sheetofpapertaped to a big white rectangularbox. Buttherew asno Scotch tape. There wasa rollofnice gooey two inch thick duct tape in thegarage,buthe thoughtbetterofthispotentialimpropriety, which no doubt w ould have leh residue behind thatcould only be rem ovcd with som e toxicsolvent. Again,he did a once around in search ofScotch tapcormagnets.
25-Then,impulsively,a plan illum inated in hism ind and he placed a stick ofgum in his
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mouth. He chewed whileglancing atthe clock. He waslate,growing laterby thc second,and chewed m ore frantically. Then he removed from hism outh atiny piece ofgum notm uch biggerthan am atch head. He kneaded itw ith som edustso itw ould lose som e stickiness,butnotall. He squashed hisnoteinto thegum on the
refrigerator,gave ita few testpulls,sm iled, and w as off. 26-Laterthatevening,hiswifew asim pressed with threethings:thathccared enough to leave a note in the firstplace- many m en w ouldn't- secondly, thathe'd leftitin the perfectlocation,and thirdly,thatthe note hadn'tfallen to the floorwhcreasthegum peeled offthe refrigeratorw ithoutleaving am ess;and itdid sm ellabitlike Spearm int.
27-Butitalso sm elled likea product. W hatifthere were a pad ofpaperthathad som e kind ofScotch tape-like sticky materialon the back? N otsticky like Scotch tape though,som ething with a lesseradhesive quality- som ething more like drafting tape- something form ulated to be removable and re-stickablew ithoutleaving a residue orm ess. The wheelswerettlrning and A lan gotto work. 28-Hebegan collecting and testing adhesives. He added solventsto rubbercem entto m akeitlesssticky. He tested the spray m ountartistsuseform ounting boards. He tested every type of>pehe could fmd. Finally he converged on the bestformulation. He senta sample to a chem istin Chicago who said he could m akethe m ixttzre. That
wasonNovember14,1973.(seeExbibitD attachedto theAmended Complaint)By the end ofthe month,thechem istquoted Alan a price forthisproprietary concoction. ln December,A lan contacted a printerwho would notonly printthem cm os, but connected Alan with an artistwho produced cam era-ready artwork forthe m em o 8
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sam ples,along w ith advertising brochuresand the specially printed envelopsfora
massmailing.(seeExhibitF attached totheAmendedComplaint) 29-ln the m eantim e,thcchem istm ixed up a gallon ofthe sticlty adhesive, which Alan broughtto a Long Island manufacturerwho m ade aerosolcansforcleaning supplies. The adhesive was5lled in pressurized 7 ounce cans, and thisiswhatA lan used to hand spray the tirst2500 sam plesoftheproducthe called thePress- on M em o. This
w astheworld'sfirststick-on repositionablerem ovable and reusablem em o com bination sticky note.
30-Alan purchased a Professionalm ailing listofcom paniesand top executivesin the stationery industry.By Febnmry, 1974 he wasready forhism assm ailing, with
preprinted nam ed and addressed perm anentpeeln stick m ailing labels, preprinted specialm ailing envelops,productadvertising brochures, and m ostim portantly,the
actualPress-on M em o com bination sticky note productsamplesthem selves. He dropped everything offatam assm ailing com pany- alm ost200 poundsof m aterial- and they sm ffed the envelopes, completc with nam es,addresscs,and
postage.Everything wasmailcd,andfmgerswerecrossed.(seeExhibitF attachedto theAm endedComplaint) 31-Alan opened a Press-on M em o com pany USPS postoftk ebox in M errick, Long lsland New York,then becam e incorporated with PressOn M emo nam e in the State ofNew York so he could do businessselling hiscom bination sticky notepads. (see
ExhibitE attachedto theAmended Complaint) 32-A round thistime,Alan mcta m an namcd Jeffery Brow n, who agreed to fm ancially
investinthetledglingcompany.(seeExhibitG attachedheretotheAmended
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Complaint)Thiswouldpay forthemarketing and anexhibitor'sb00th atthe upcom ing invention show,which w asto be held in the m ain ballroom atthe
AmericanaHotel(now theSheridan)inNew YorkCity.n iswouldbeashow that manymajormanufacturersattendtofindnew andinnovativeproducts.Alanwason aroll.Hewouldbeshowingthree(3)new productsattheshow.OnewasthePressOn M em o;the sccond wasthe sticlty adhesive itself, sold in 7 ounce spray canscalled
Stick-EM -UP;and thethird wasabattery powercd watergtm he'd recently builta prototype ofin thatgarage.
33-There werehundreds ofboothsatthe inventorsshow , featuring everything from the zany to thepractical. Butone m an'szany isanothcrm an'spractical, and protitable.
Atthe show ,A fam ousNew York City television newsreporterfrom W OR's Channel9 N ews,wasm aking theroundswith hiscam eram an and sound m an. M ost inventorswould have given theirrightarm to be featured on television new s. They stopped by Alan'sarea. n e b00th nextto Alan'swasm armed by a guy who had invented a toiletfordogs. ltwasa six foottallbox thcsizeofarefrigeratorin which the dog w ould,itwasbelicved,voluntarily enter, do hisbusiness- and then the
ow nerwould flush itwhen thehappy dog exitsto siton the couch and, pcrhaps,read thenewspaperwhile sm oking a pipe. They believed every dog ownerwould have OnQ.
34-û1...And therew ere silly inventions,''Thefam ousNew York N ewsreportersaid, thus com pleted a previousthoughtwhile holding Alan'sw atergun, çllike thissub-m achine
gun thatrunson batteries,''completewith a m ocking giggle in hisvoice causing a deliberatesm tterin the word ttnm s''ashepressed thetriggerand shotwaterinto the 10
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camera.(see Exhibit115 attached toAmended Complaint)Aspeopledomoreoften than not,he gotitcom pletely w rong. W hile people lovetheirpetsdearly, dogs
simply aren'thum an and can'tbeexpected to behave like hum ans. People,on the otherhand,liketo play with waterguns. A lan'sEtsilly''battery operated watergun wenton to m ake hundredsofm illionsofdollarsworldwide. 35-W hile the fam ousNew York TV New sreportertook no noticeofthe Press-on M em o sticky notesorStick-EM UP spray sticky adhcsive, hundredsofcompaniesdid. One ofthese com panieshappened to be the M innesota M ining and M anufacturing Company,which the world know sas3M . Alan gavethem m any sam plesofthe
Press-on M em o com bination sticlty notesasw cllasa can ofthe stick'y spray adhesive. The m en from 3M said they would getback to Alan afterthey'd evaluated hiscom bination sticky note invention. They neverdid getback to Alan, so Alan
calledthem.(seeExhibitR attachedtoAmendedComplaintthemostrecentDistrict Courtcaseand itssubsequentAppealwhereboth Courtsfound and then affirm ed the 3M Company liable in stealing an invention idea from a tradeshow and their inequitable conductbefore thepatentoffk e in notproperly reporting itoneyear later.EXACTLY THE SAM E CHARGES 1M AK E TODAY . 3M showsa pattern ofstealing inventionsfrom trade show sand inequitableconduct atthe patcntoffk e to gain an unfairadvantage in the m arketplaceand they m ustbe punished forit. 36-A lan wastold thathisproducthad been evaluated by several3M departments. The .
generalconsensusw asthatthe Press-on M em o w ould be way too expensive to m ake, thatthe glue would gum up the m achinery and couldn'tbe applied by any known
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process,Alan attem pted to logically addresseach problem individually, relating each
to pre-existingproductsthatcould bemade(likethemanufactureoflinedpaperpads andmasking tape)which,whencombinedtogetherwith stick'y gluewould produce theproduct. Theim pression A lan gotwasthat3M feltitwastheoretically impossiblc to do,and thiscom pany thatpridesitselfon ilm ovation and theability to think outside thebox sim ply wasn'tinterested. Alan thoughtthe productwasdead for3M
.
37-Buthe stillconsidered the inventorshow to be a success. Potentialcustom ersdid take and orbuy samplesofA lan'scombination sticky notes, butm ostshied away from the Press-on M em o padsbecausethey weretoo expensive. Afterall,Alan w as m aking each one by hand-spraying thepaperwith hissticky adhesive in agarage withoutventilation,then assem bling each pad by hand-aligning thepaper, one on top ofanother. Forthisto w ork asaviableproduct, itw ould have to be m assproduced by machinely. Thism eanteitherlicensing itto a com pany with the resourcesto
develop itproperly,orto develop and build the m achineshim self 38-Butthe spray sticky adhesivewasadifferentstory, and itbegan to 1keoff. Alan had hisChicago chem istsend the formulato Rite O ff, the com pany in Plainview,Long lsland thathad m ade thefirstsam pleswhich A lan broughtto the show . This
company m adeclcaning chcm icals,and they had a sm alllab where they could m ix thecomponents. They gotthe form ulation rightand becam e Alan'ssupplier. They would putthe sticky adhesive in cans,placethe fourcolorStick-Em up labelon the can,and box them up in casesof 12. 39-A thorough apatentsearch in 1973 would have uncovered a 1968 Sw isspatentfora
somewhatsimilarnoteproduct. Butthisnoteproduct(asunderstood from itsclaim s)
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w asspecifically intended to notberepositioned and itleftaresidue. ltwasforan adhesive-backed note paperforone time usc only. Had Alan filed forapatentthere would have been enough variation be> een hisPress-on M em o combination sticky glue and note paperand the Swisspatentthathewould have secured the intellectual patentproperty rights. 40-The combination sticky notethen called Press-on mem o, had been publicly displayed, putinto useand putin to com m erce in the over2,000 piece professionalnational
stationery industry m ailer,and atthcN ew Y ork City nationalinvention show , and A lan had already sold and gave away severalsam plesofit. Thism eantthatlegally the clock had started,and Alan had exactly one yearto apply fora patentbefore his ideawould enterthepublicdom ain.Patentlaw isquite clearon this. From the
momentyou publicly display oroffertosell(putintousein commerce)yourbetter m ousetrap,ifyou have notfiled fora patentwithin oneyear,anyone on earth can build yourbettcrm ouse trap,and thcre isn'ta damn thing you can do aboutit. 41-And 3M wasbusy,perhapsw ith a littledivine intervention. ln 1976 they were in the m idstoftestmarketing thcirown sticky note productthcy called thePressn'peel, a f' u11two yearsaherAlan had shown 3M and given 3M severalsamples ofhis .
combination sticky noteshecalled Press-on m em o. Apparently 3M had solved the
technicalproblemsformerly insunuountable.Company lore(myth)hasitthatArthur Fry firstbegan work on thisstick'y noteproductin 1974. Hc gottheidea in church,
which isa wholesom e incubatorfornew ideas. Artsang in the choir, and m arked the hymnshe sang with stripsofpaper. He needed aw ay to keep the m arkerssecure in his songbook withoutfalling out.ltw asthen thatherealized heneeded am ild
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adhesive to hold thepaperin placc,and perhapsthism ighteven have other applications.
42-And so began a greatinnovativeforce within 3M to reinventthe already-invented by Alan Am ron and w hatem erged w asin 1980 the sticky note wasrenam cd by 3M as the Post-itnote. 43-To thisday the combination sticky note invention rem ainsin the public dom ain.
Tradem arksarea differentstory,and 3M hastradem arked theirversion ofthe
product.FirstPrcssn'peelthen Post-itnotc. ButaftcrAlan failed to timely patenthis invention,no onc else could patentiteither. Noteven 3M .Processesand m achinesto
m ake itcan bepatented,butnotthe reposition-able rcusablecombination sticky notes productitself.Am ron nevergave up orlostthe inventorship rightsto thisinvention. 44-ln 1978 Pressn'peelby 354 sticky noteswentnational. By thistim e,how ever,A lan
had sold hislastPress-on m em o combination sticky note,and 7 oz cansofStick-EM UP spray stick'y adhesive,and m oved on,to Hollywood,to m anage the careerof television and m ovie starKristy M cNichol,RobertGuillaum e and M uhamm ad Ali. 45-The story between Alan Am ron and 3M doesn'tpick up again until1997, whileA lan waswatching thenewson TV with hisyoung children they saw an astronautin the
space shuttlewriting anoteand sticking itonto hisconsole.N o Gpes, no pinsand no magnets.A lan'skidsand he were am azed to see thathisPress-on m em o stick'y note
sheetswasbeing used in space on nationaltelevision. Hisson saysiçisn'tthatyour sticky notesinvention?''Alan said yes. Hisson said tthow can they do thaf'.
46-Having been involved in severalpatentlitigation casesw ith hisbattery operated water glm s,Alan knew how to write,file and serve a Federalpatentcase against3M . But
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firstAlan had to send 3M a cease and desistletterviareturn receipt. Giving 3M the .
10 daysto respond,and ifnotAlan w asgoing to file the summ onsand complaintin FederalCourt. 10 dayshad pastand no response cam e from 3M whatsoever. Alan wrote,filed and served a com plaintthatheld nothing back. Alan iigured by putting everything irlto the com plaint3M lawyersw ould seethathew asin facttheinventor ofthe com bination sticlty notehe called Press-on m em o hehad putinto usefirst, in comm erce,and gave samplesto 3M executivesin 1974. Alan w asright,histrade secrctviolationsclaim ed in hisFederalcomplaintwassettled by 3M w ithin weeks from itsfiling date. Although theamountofthe check from 3N1to Am ron in the .
settlem entwasonly forhislegalfeesof$12,000(in todaysmoney that's $70,000.00) A lan washappy to berecognized by the large company. n inking his settlem ent agreem entwith 3M prevented both him and 3M from evercom ing outastheinventor
ofthe com bination sticky noteproductknown today asthe Post-itnote. 47-A lan today fcclsbecause 3M hasbreached the intentand understandingsthatlead to the 1998 settlem entagreem entthe world should know these factsaboutw ho actually invented thc m osticonic stationery producton theplanet. lts'true inventorAlan Am ron. 48-Theinvention is:
Com bination sticky note 49-Theinventoris: Alan Am ron
50-N am esit'sbeen called: A lan Amron -Presson m em o 1973 15
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3M Company -Pressn'peel1977 3M Company -Postitnote 1980 51-W hy wasitinvented:
To m ake life fasterand easierin a personsbusy life. Thereby elim inating the need for scotch tape,pinsorm agnetsto posta note. W hy are you suing now ? Because in 20l1rightthnlto today 2016,lpersonally heard and stillhearin the new s
that3M and ArthurFry again claimed to be theinvcntorofthe combination sticky notethey happen to now callPost-itnotessince 1980 butfirststarted calling them Pressn'peelin 1977.Sam e sticky notesinvention thatwascalled by Am ron Press-on m emo in 1973.
And since the stam te oflim itationson filing offraud and breach ofagreem entcases in the statesofM innesota and New York is6 yearsfrom the datethe accusersfirst learned ofthefraud,1had only onc yearleft.To securem y legalrightsto sue, and now adding to m y A mended Com plaintthe tEcontinuing Tort''and ttDefam ation'' dam age to m y reputation by the Defendantsison going even today.
52-3M isnow sayingthey (Spencer)inventedaversion ofastick'y glueadhesivein 1970, therefore they claim ed the sticky note.However,in the new sand in all3M company public statementsthey clearly state thatitw as3M scientistArthttrFry and 3M who
invented thecombination sticky and note by accidentin church in 1974. (SeeExhibit
A attachedtotheAmendedComplaint) ''Arethey lying now ,orwere they lying then?'' 53-3M claim stheform ula isthe Postitnote invention: 16
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Nomattertheformulationofthestickyadhesiveglueused(that'sjustamatterofuser preferenceanduscracceptnce)good-betler-bestorworst.Anyacceptedadhesive by the end usercombination sticky note isthe invention. 54-ln 1970,a 3M scientistnam ed Spencerinvented and patented a version ofa sticky adhesive gluethat3M planned to use in spray cans. No where in the entire 3M patent dose itstate,describe,discussand oreven m ention the com bination sticky adhesive
and thc noteasonenew invention product. 55-Forexam ple illustration by com parison only:
That'slike Firestoneinventcd one version ofthe tire, (3M inventedoneversion ofthe
stickyglue)and claimedthatthey also inventedthecombinationtiresonan automobile(like3M claimedtheyalso invented thecombinationofsticky adhesive onnotes)becausetheirversionofthetireinvention can beused on theautomobile
combinationinvention.(Becausethestickyadhesivecould beused onthestickynote combination invention) 56-Firestone and 3M bot. h failed to m ention,describe, discussorclaim anywhere in their
patentsthe com bination ofthe tire and thecarastheirinvention, orthe com bination ofthe sticky adhesive and thenote asan invention. 57-ln 1973 Am ronsan inventor,independently had developed hisown accepubleversion stick'y adhesive forhisspecific stationery com bination invention productneed. The stick.vnote combination invention.
58-3M and ArthurFry have in 1997 and again in 2011 and stilltoday in 2016 falsely and m isleadingly claim ed and claim in adsand in public statem entsthatthey are in fact
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the rightfulinventorsofthe sticky note invention thatthcy firstcalled Pressn'peelin 1977 and renam ed itPost-itnotesin 1980. 59- ln patentlaw ,the successofan invention in them arketplace ultim ately determ ines theutility,newness,novelty and uniquenessofit. There isno betterexam pleofthat than w ith m y 1973 com bination sticky note invention, no m atterwhatanyonc calls it, Press-on m emo by me in 1973,Pressn'peelby 3M in 1977 orPost-itnoteby 3M in
1980,theworld hasvoted.(SeeExhibitO attached toAmended Complaint) USPTO rule 56,as a m atteroflaw,aII3M revenues earned on Post-itnote related patents
overtheIast40yearsm ustbeturned overtoAlan Amron.PTO Rule56 (a)(b)hasno statuesoflim itations. O nce conceived and putinto com m erce inventorship belongsto only oneperson,the inventor,with orw ithouta patent.
Thesimpleexplanationoftheentirestickysituationisasfollows: 1- ln 1968 in Sw itzerland,W alterinvented the im practicalcom bination adhesivew ith paper pad. 2-ln 1970 Spenccr/3M invented a sticky glueadhesivc. Notm entioning orincluding in his descriptionsto the patentoffice the com bination papernotepadsatall.
3-ln 1973 Amron invented the m ostpracticalcombination sticky glue and paperpad. W hich the world hascom e to know and love. 4-ln 1974 3W Fry invented the sam epracticalcom bination sticky glue and paperpad, asAmron did oneyearearlier.
3M /spencer/Fry have the leastrightto claim lnventorship ofthe Pressn'peel-Post-itnote Sticky note. W hereasAlan Am ron clearly invented the firstSticky Note combination invention thatthe world
now know sand lovescalled thePost-itnote. 18
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(SeeExhibitO attached toAm ended Complaint)Proofofthe Stickynotesinvcntionsuccess in them arketplace.ûçW hich ofthese com m on oftk e tools isthebestinnovation?'' ln sum m ary,the inherentrightto inventorship ofthc sticky note invention in 1973 and
today in 2016 rightfully belongsto Alan Am ron, me and lrespectfully requestfrom thisCourt
DECLAREATO RY JUDG EM ENT statitlg the sam e and prohibiting 3M Company and its' employees from everclaim ing invcntorship ofitagain.
A LAN A M RON STATE OF FLORIDA CO UNTY OF PALM BEA CH : Sworn to oraffm ned and signed b
eforemeonm lcck 5W.zolfbyALAN AMRON. .* %e..x. svv1 MYcovL u:sllMc vlssloN4FF!.*i.' i
