Braintree company feeling penned in by competitor, sues

A Braintree company that makes 100 million pens a year for promotional giveaways is suing a New York competitor for patent infringement over the shape of its pens.

In a lawsuit filed this week in US District Court in Boston, Hub Pen Co. alleges that Empire USA Pen and Promotions blatantly copied the design of Hub's Javelina line of promotional pens, for which Hub won a design patent this past July.

Hub wants to a judge to order Empire to knock it off with the knockoffs and pay damages and lawyers' fees. Hub did not write down an exact amount that it is seeking, however.