Birmingham man's patent case against the U.S. Postal Service goes to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is taking up a case involving an Birmingham man who developed a way to process undeliverable mail.Mitch Hungerpiller thought he had a first-class solution to the problem. But he's now spent more than a decade fighting with the U.S. Postal Service over a solution that his Birmingham-based company Return Mail Inc. patented.The Postal Service developed its own, similar system for processing returned and undeliverable mail. The government says Hungerpiller's company shouldn't have been able to get a patent, and the government has successfully challenged that patent in court.On Tuesday, the high court will hear Hungerpiller's case, which involves parsing the meaning of a 2011 patent law.Hungerpiller says all he's looking for is "a fair shake."

The Supreme Court is taking up a case involving an Birmingham man who developed a way to process undeliverable mail.

Mitch Hungerpiller thought he had a first-class solution to the problem. But he's now spent more than a decade fighting with the U.S. Postal Service over a solution that his Birmingham-based company Return Mail Inc. patented.


The Postal Service developed its own, similar system for processing returned and undeliverable mail. The government says Hungerpiller's company shouldn't have been able to get a patent, and the government has successfully challenged that patent in court.

On Tuesday, the high court will hear Hungerpiller's case, which involves parsing the meaning of a 2011 patent law.

Hungerpiller says all he's looking for is "a fair shake."