Proppant Express Investments Prevails in Patent Trial and Appeal Board Ruling Resulting in Invalidation of SandBox Logistics ...

Proppant Express Investments, LLC (PropX) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) through the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidated patent claims of a SandBox Logistics, LLC (“SandBox”) patent.  Specifically, the PTAB found that all 18 claims of Sandbox’s U.S. Patent 9,440,785 (the “785 Patent”) challenged by PropX are unpatentable in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding.  SandBox is a subsidiary of U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA).              

With this ruling, the PTAB has issued rulings on all the asserted patents currently challenged by PropX through IPR proceedings and, in each case, has invalidated the majority of claims from the SandBox patents. The PTAB has invalidated 53 patent claims (out of a total of 60 challenged) which were contained in four patents challenged by PropX.

“This ruling strongly supports PropX’s position as the leading provider of last mile sand logistics solutions to the oilfield services industry and reinforces PropX’s legal position in their unique, differentiated technology,” said Kevin Fisher, President and Chief Executive Officer of PropX. “We are pleased PropX prevailed in both our non-infringement defense and in our patent invalidity arguments. Combined with our victory in federal court in January of this year that we do not infringe on SandBox patents and additional PTAB rulings invalidating other Sandbox patent claims, this PTAB ruling should eliminate any doubt that PropX has unique technology that fairly and strongly competes in the sand logistics industry. We look forward to continuing to grow our position as the premier last mile delivery provider and remain committed to serving our customers with our unique, efficient and market-leading containerized sand logistics systems.”

About Proppant Express Investments, LLC

PropX provides last mile sand logistics through its innovative mobile container and delivery system design and best-in-class customer service. The PropX last mile delivery system significantly reduces the cost of proppant delivery for each well and reduces the environmental impact of sand injection at the wellhead when compared to traditional and other delivery methods. Founded in 2016, PropX has quickly become a market leader in last mile sand logistics focused on providing the customer with the most efficient method of transporting proppant from mine or transload to well site. Visit PropX at www.propx.com.

Proppant Express Solutions, LLC950 17th Street, Suite 1350Denver, CO 80202(303) 317-8950