Expo Holdings Inc. (EXPH)

[Stock_Barber]

Is the etc patent DEAD?

We have been told that a retailer is picking etc up in <15 days and putting it in ~100 retail stores by year end. That certainly sounds like good news... but its future may not be quite so bright...

One year ago 9/11/09 investors greeted the news that EXPH was "awarded" patent pending status with a nice pop. It was a Provisional Patent... which IS NOT the same as a Utility Patent. Why is this relevant?

Well, a Provisional Patent is like a bookmark holding the date of a future patent filing to the date of the Provisional filing. And it does... providing you actually file a Utility Patent within 1 year...

1 year expired on 9/11/10...

If they did not file a patent... they have lost the exclusive rights to the invention! Was the patent mentioned at the shareholder's meeting? It certainly wasn't mentioned in the PR!

In any case... if they have NOT filed a Utility Patent, that makes the invention public domain and competitors can make an identical product. Without a patent, what do they bring to the table that existing cabinet suppliers can't match or beat?

I suggest that if Expo has filed a patent, they should disclose this immediately as it is highly material!

If they did not file... well, what does that say for the future of etc?