HOUSTON, January 28, 2026 — Baker Botts L.L.P., a leading international energy, technology, and life sciences law firm, secured a complete victory for Solaris Oilfield Site Services Operating, LLC and Solaris Oilfield Site Services Personnel, LLC (“Solaris”), subsidiaries of Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Inc., from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). The decision cancelled all claims of a patent covering sand-handling equipment used in oilfield operations.

The case centered on U.S. Patent No. 11,780,689, owned by Masaba, Inc., which covers equipment that transfers sand from delivery trucks into elevated storage containers for use in operations such as hydraulic fracturing at oil and gas well sites. Masaba had asserted the patent against Solaris in parallel district court litigation in December 2023, accusing Solaris's Top Fill Sand Loading Systems of infringing the patent.

In its decision, the PTAB ruled that all 25 claims of Masaba’s patent are unpatentable as obvious over combinations of prior art references. The PTAB thoroughly rejected Masaba's arguments that the prior art lacked critical features, finding that known conveyor systems rendered the claimed invention obvious to skilled engineers.

"This victory validates our client's position that Masaba's patent claims cover nothing more than predictable combinations of well-known conveyor technologies," said Baker Botts Partner Liz Flannery, who led the firm's trial team. "The PTAB's thorough analysis confirms that the patent never should have been issued in the first place."

Baker Botts Lawyers/Offices Involved:

Intellectual Property: Liz Flannery (Partner, Houston); Paul Morico (Partner, Houston); Brian Hausman (Associate, Houston); Laura Natchev (Associate, Houston)

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