Sea Swivel mount creator and longtime Key Largo resident Mark Berta is taking on some marine industry giants for allegedly infringing on his patent design.
The invention has transformed trolling motor technology while keeping anglers safer on the water.
“I never planned on being a creator of this product; that just came on itself,” Berta said. “I always built things and tinkered, and it led to new business.”
In 2023, Berta’s flagship innovation — the original Sea Swivel mount — began to launch in the Upper Keys.
Before the product came to life, Berta graduated from Coral Shores High School and entered the marine mechanics industry. He spent 16 months at the Marine Mechanics Institute in Orlando. There, he became certified in Mercury, Yamaha, Seven Marine and Suzuki.
After obtaining his certification, Berta says one of first jobs was pulling engines from offshore race boats in North Miami Beach. He eventually came back to the Florida Keys, working at Plantation Boat Mart as its lead technician for seven years. He was also manager at SeaHunter Boats in Key Largo.
“Being in the boating industry most of my life, I constantly see things changing and new products,” Berta said. “I saw these big trolling motors coming out. I basically had an idea that if this thing can swivel you can put it where you want.”
The Sea Swivel addresses potential safety problems by providing a swiveling mounting plate compatible with leading manufacturer trolling motors. Berta’s creation made it so anglers could mount their trolling motor upward facing the gunnel of the boat. The invention made it so anglers no longer need to expose themselves to the dangers by boarding the bow of the boat to deploy or retract the trolling motor shaft.
The Sea Swivel rotating mount allows a trolling motor to pivot laterally without removing the mount from the deck, enabling users to redirect motor thrust and stow the motor without removal or disassembly.
Early on, Berta began building a few by hand for some customers. From there, he posted his creation to various social media channels. Berta said everyone started asking him to make them a Sea Swivel mount.
“Hundreds of people were asking,” he said. “I went to my wife, Sam, and said ‘It’s weird, I post all the time and never gotten this much response from something so simple. We should look into doing something with this.’”
Berta decided to get it patented and filed in September 2023. The patent was officially issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in March 2025, giving Berta the right to recover damages for infringement.
The product is so popular that it’s now found at CWR Wholesale Electronics, West Marine, Wintron Electronics Wholesale, Boat Outfitters, Port Supply and other local dealers throughout the country.
Even with the patent, some companies reportedly went ahead and created a similar product to Berta’s Sea Swivel.
Berta received a call from a client who was having issues with what was originally thought to be a Sea Swivel mount. As Berta was helping the person troubleshoot the product, Berta realized it was not his product, but rather a competitor’s knock-off version.
“I said, ‘What a minute, it’s ShuttleSlide.’” I still helped him because I know the product,” Berta said.
On Aug. 8, Berta’s Sea Swivel Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against Melbourne, Florida-based ShuttleSlide, Sarasota-based Rhodan Marine Systems and Glenwood, Iowa-based T/6 Marine in the Southern District of Florida. The complaint accuses these companies of selling copycat versions of a product Berta created in the Florida Keys. All are accused of mirroring Sea Swivel’s patented design (U.S. Patent No. 12,258,111).
A 15-page complaint filed by Sea Swivel in court alleging patent infringement seeks a complete stop to the defendants’ “ongoing misappropriation of valuable intellectual property.” The lawsuit states the three companies are making, using and offering to sell swiveling troll motor mounts that “brazenly infringe on Sea Swivel’s patent.” As a result, the complaint says it’s allowing the major companies to reap the benefits of Berta’s innovation they neither conceived nor earned.
The lawsuit states Rhodan’s SRQ brackets, ShuttleSlides’s SS-7.5R and SS 9.5R mounts and T6’s BOSS 360 and Mini BOSS 360 trolling motor mounts all incorporate rotating or pivoting mechanisms, which facilitate secure attachment and directional adjustment of bow-mounted trolling motors similar to Sea Swivel’s patent design. These products continued to be marketed and sold throughout the U.S., according to the complaint.
“The products are believed to infringe one or more claims of the ‘111 patent based on their structural and functional characteristics, including mechanisms that allow for rotational movement or directional adjustment of trolling motors,” states the complaint.
Sea Swivel is not only demanding damages and a full accounting of sales, but the business is also seeking a permanent injunctive relief under the Patent Act to ensure the companies can no longer trade on the strength of Sea Swivel’s ingenuity. Sea Swivel’s lawsuit is seeking a jury trial.
Albert Sabater, senior associate at Miami’s EPGD Business Law and lead attorney for Sea Swivel, said the patent provides protections for Berta.
“One (company) can’t just look at an idea or invention and say it’s fantastic, I’ll create something similar,” he said. “With Rhodan, it was more deliberate. They knew this product existed and decided to make it for half the price.
“Mark built this product from scratch. He poured all his savings into filing the patent. He did everything right,” Sabater continued.
Sabater said the lawsuit not only intends to make Berta whole monetarily, but it also seeks recognition that the product was patented and thus protected from being infringed.
“Just because you have the means and resources to trump the product doesn’t make it right,” Sabater said. “It’s more the fact they knew better and they decided to rip-off Mark’s product.”
“It was one of those things that these companies make one product, trolling motors and accessories, and yet they never have been in the mounting business, ever,” Berta said. “Now all of sudden they made a mount. It was a little bit of a punch in the gut.”
The plaintiffs have until Oct. 14 to respond to the complaint. On Sept. 25, the Keys Weekly reached out to the three companies named in the complaint and was awaiting response.
