Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/107970040/Belwith-Products-v-American-Drew-et-al
Timestamp: 2018-07-16 01:11:40
Document Index: 250193360

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 1331', '§ 101', '§ 1338', '§ 1391', '§ 101', '§ 106', '§ 101', '§ 284', '§ 285']

Belwith Products v. American Drew et. al. | Patent | Lawsuit
Belwith Products v. American Drew et. al.
Description: Official Complaint for Patent Infringement in Civil Action No. 1:12-cv-01068: Belwith Products, LLC v. American Drew, Inc. et. al. Filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan,...
Official Complaint for Patent Infringement in Civil Action No. 1:12-cv-01068: Belwith Products, LLC v. American Drew, Inc. et. al. Filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, no judge yet assigned. See http://news.priorsmart.com/-l6NF for more info.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION BELWITH PRODUCTS, LLC, ) ) Plaintiff
, ) ) vs. ) ) ) AMERICAN DREW, INC., a subsidiary of LA-Z-BOY, INC., KINCAID FURNITURE ) COMPANY, INC., a subsidiary of LA-Z) BOY, INC., and HAMMARY FURNITURE ) ) COMPANY, INC., a subsidiary of LA-ZBOY, INC.
COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND Case No. 12-cv-1068
COMPLAINT Belwith Products, LLC (“Belwith”), for its Complaint against American Drew, Inc. (“American Drew”), Kincaid Furniture Company, Inc. (“Kincaid”), and Hammary Furniture Company, Inc. (“Hammary” and collectively with Kincaid and American Drew, “Defendants”) alleges: PARTIES, JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. This is an action for patent infringement arising out of the manufacture and sale of
furniture hardware. This is also an action for copyright infringement. 2. Plaintiff Belwith is a company organized and existing under the laws of the state
of Delaware, with its principal place of business at 3100 Broadway Avenue SW, Grandville, Michigan, 49418. Belwith is a leading manufacturer of decorative furniture hardware and protects its intellectual property rights through patents, copyrights, trademarks, and contracts with its suppliers.
4852-2825-2432
On information and belief, American Drew is a company organized and existing
under the laws of the state of North Carolina, with its principal place of business at 1284 North Telegraph Road, Monroe, Michigan 48162. American Drew sells its products, including the
products at issue in this lawsuit, throughout the United States, including through numerous dealers located throughout this Judicial District. 4. On information and belief, Kincaid is a company organized and existing under the
laws of the state of Delaware, with its principal place of business at 1284 North Telegraph Road, Monroe, Michigan 48162. Kincaid sells its products, including the products at issue in this lawsuit, throughout the United States, including through numerous dealers located throughout this Judicial District. 5. On information and belief, Hammary is a company organized and existing under
the laws of the state of Delaware, with its principal place of business at 2 South Salisbury Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27601. Hammary sells its products, including the products at issue in this lawsuit, throughout the United States, including through numerous dealers located throughout this Judicial District. 6. On information and belief, American Drew, Kincaid, and Hammary are wholly-
owned subsidiaries of La-Z-Boy, Inc. 7. Defendants manufacture and sell home furnishings. Defendants have made, used,
sold, and offered for sale furniture hardware based on designs owned by Belwith, and continue to make, use, sell, and offer for sale such products in the United States of America, including within this Judicial District. 8. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action by virtue of the
following facts: (1) this is a civil action arising under the United States patent laws, 35 U.S.C. § 2
271, et. seq., jurisdiction being expressly conferred in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a); and (2) this is a civil action arising under the United States Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C.§ 101, et seq., jurisdiction being expressly conferred in accordance Section 1338(a) of the United States Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a). 9. Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) because Defendants or
their agents reside within this Judicial District and have committed certain of the acts alleged herein within this Judicial District. In view of the foregoing, Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in this state and within this Judicial District and, therefore, reside within this Judicial District for purposes of venue. BACKGROUND 10. Belwith historically sold or otherwise supplied its patented and copyrighted
furniture hardware to each of the Defendants. The Defendants, however, terminated their relationships with Belwith and began to obtain effectively identical hardware from sources other than Belwith in violation of Belwith’s patents and copyrights. Defendants in turn made, used, sold or offered to sell—and continue to make, use, sell or offer to sell—furniture featuring hardware that infringes on Belwith’s patents and copyrights. 11. American Drew was previously a customer of Belwith. Between 2004 and 2008,
American Drew requested quotes for or placed orders for at least the following products (notated by Belwith OEM number): 50777, 50808, 50782, 50810, 50780, 50809, 50783, and 50811. Additionally, Belwith provided drawings and specifications of its products to American Drew in the context of advertising and marketing. Upon receiving a request in 2010 from American Drew, Belwith provided a number of hardware samples to American Drew, including Belwith
OEM numbers 50811, 50809, and 50808. However, American Drew did not place an order for those products with Belwith at that time. 12. American Drew currently manufactures and sells furniture collections using
effectively identical hardware to the patented and copyrighted hardware originally sourced from Belwith including, but not limited to, its Camden Light, Camden Dark, and Camden Office collections (which use hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 52033 and 52539), its Sterling Pointe collection (which uses hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 52430 and 52429), its Bob Mackie collection (which use hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 53676 and 53679), and its Grand Revival collection (which uses hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 50777, 50808, 50782, 50810, 50780, 50809, 50783, and 50811). 13. Until 2009, Belwith sold furniture hardware to Kincaid for use in its products.
Between 2002 and 2009, Kincaid requested quotes for or placed orders for at least the following products (notated by Belwith OEM number): 48635, 52293, and 52057. Belwith also provided drawings and specifications of its products to Kincaid as part of its marketing efforts and product quotes. Kincaid has not placed any sales orders for Belwith products since 2009. 14. Kincaid currently manufactures and sells furniture collections having hardware
effectively identical to the patented and copyrighted hardware originally sourced from Belwith including, but not limited to, Kincaid’s Carriage House collection (which uses hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 52293 and 52057) and its Keswick collection (which uses hardware that mimics Belwith OEM No. 50197). 15. Hammary became a customer of Belwith in approximately 1988. Belwith also
provided drawings and specifications of its products to Hammary in the context of marketing and
advertising. However, in approximately 2002, Hammary began obtaining furniture hardware from other sources, and Hammary has not placed any orders with Belwith since 2002. 16. Hammary currently manufactures and sells furniture collections having hardware
effectively identical to the patented and copyrighted hardware originally sourced from Belwith including, but not limited to, its Camden Light and Camden Dark collections (which uses hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 52033 and 52539) as well as its Oasis and Baja collections (which use hardware that mimics Belwith OEM Nos. 48635 and 17532, respectively). COUNT I Infringement of U.S. Patent No. D549,544 17. Belwith restates and realleges paragraphs 1 through 16 of this Complaint as
though fully set forth herein. 18. On August 28, 2007, United States Patent No. D549,544 (“’544 Patent”), entitled
“Cabinet Handle,” was duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A true and correct copy of the ’544 patent is attached as Exhibit A to this Complaint. 19. Belwith owns the right, title, and interest in and to the inventions covered by the
’544 Patent, and Belwith is entitled to receive all damages and the benefits of all other remedies for any infringement thereof. 20. Both American Drew and Hammary have made, used, sold, and/or offered to sell,
continue to make, use, sell, and/or offer to sell, and have caused others to make, use, sell, and/or offer to sell products that infringe at least one claim of the ’544 Patent, including, without limitation, at least the products in the “Camden Light,” “Camden Dark” and “Camden Office” collections.
The making, using, selling, offering to sell, or causing others to make, use, sell,
and/or offer to sell infringing products, including the products described in paragraph 20, by Hammary and American Drew has been without authority or license from Belwith and in violation of Belwith’s rights. 22. American Drew and Hammary have caused and will continue to cause Belwith
substantial damage and irreparable injury by infringing the ’544 Patent. 23. Upon information and belief, at least because American Drew and Hammary
received samples of Belwith’s products marked “US Pat. 549544,” they therefore had knowledge of the ’544 Patent at the time they committed its acts of infringement of the ’544 Patent. 24. Belwith will suffer further irreparable injury, for which it has no adequate remedy
at law, unless and until American Drew and Hammary are enjoined from infringing the ’544 Patent. 25. Belwith is entitled to recover from American Drew and Hammary damages in an
amount sufficient to compensate it for their infringement of the ’544 Patent, together with prejudgment interest thereon. COUNT II Infringement of U.S. Patent No. D592,037 26. Belwith restates and realleges paragraphs 1 through 25 of this Complaint as
though fully set forth herein. 27. On May 12, 2009, United States Patent No. D592,037 (“’037 Patent”), entitled
“Cabinet Handle,” was duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A true and correct copy of the ’037 patent is attached as Exhibit B to this Complaint.
Belwith owns the right, title, and interest in and to the inventions covered by the
’037 Patent, and Belwith is entitled to receive all damages and the benefits of all other remedies for any infringement thereof. 29. American Drew has made, used, sold, and/or offered to sell, continues to make,
use, sell, and/or offer to sell, and has caused others to make, use, sell, and/or offer to sell products that infringe at least one claim of the ’037 Patent, including, without limitation, at least American Drew’s “Sterling Pointe” collection). 30. The making, using, selling, offering to sell, or causing others to make, use, sell,
and/or offer to sell infringing products, including the products described in paragraph 29, by American Drew has been without authority or license from Belwith and in violation of Belwith’s rights. 31. American Drew has caused and will continue to cause Belwith substantial damage
and irreparable injury by infringing the ’037 Patent. 32. Upon information and belief, at least because American Drew received samples of
Belwith’s products marked “US Pat. 592037,” it therefore had knowledge of the ’037 Patent at the time it committed its acts of infringement of the ’037 Patent. 33. Belwith will suffer further irreparable injury, for which it has no adequate remedy
at law, unless and until American Drew is enjoined from infringing the ’037 Patent. 34. Belwith is entitled to recover from American Drew damages in an amount
sufficient to compensate it for American Drew’s infringement of the ’037 Patent, together with prejudgment interest thereon.
COUNT III Copyright Infringement 35. Belwith realleges and incorporates paragraphs 1-35 of this Complaint as though
fully set forth herein. 36. Each of the Belwith designs embodied in Belwith OEM Nos. 48635, 52293,
52057, 52293, 50197, 17532, 50777, 50808, 50782, 50810, 50780, 50809, 50783, 53676, 50778, and 50811, together with Belwith designs set forth in the ’544 Patent and the ’037 Patent (collectively, the “Belwith Works”), constitutes an original work of authorship. 37. 38. Belwith owns the right, title and interest to each of the Belwith Works. Each of the Belwith Works constitutes copyrightable subject matter under the
laws of the United States, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. 39. 40. Belwith has applied to register its copyright in each of the Belwith Works. Defendants have willfully infringed Belwith’s copyrights in the Belwith Works
by, inter alia, making or causing to be made and by distributing copies of the Belwith Works without the consent of Belwith. For example, American Drew has made and distributed copies of Belwith designs found in the ’544 Patent, the ’037 Patent, and OEM Nos. 50777, 50808, 50782, 50810, 50780, 50809, 50783, 50811, 53676, and 50778, through its Camden, Sterling Pointe, Bob Mackie, and Grand Revival collections. Kincaid has made and distributed copies of Belwith OEM Nos. 52057, 52293, and 50197 through its Carriage House and Keswick collections. Hammary has made and distributed copies of Belwith designs found in the ’544 Patent and OEM Nos. 48635 and 17532 through its Camden, Oasis, and Baja collections.
The aforesaid copying of the Belwith Works and distribution of the Defendants’
copies constitutes copyright infringement of the Belwith Works in violation of § 106 of the United States Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.
Prayer for Relief WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests judgment against Defendant as follows: A. For a judgment that American Drew has infringed the ’544 Patent, and the ’037 Patent; B. C. For a judgment that Hammary has infringed the ’544 Patent; For a judgment that Defendants have infringed Belwith’s copyright in the Belwith Works; D. For an order preliminarily and permanently enjoining Defendants and their officers, agents, employees, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, successors, and all persons in privity or active concert or participation with them from infringing the ’544 Patent, the ’037 Patent, and Belwith’s copyrights; E. For an order directing Defendants to file with the Court and serve on counsel for Belwith, within 30 days after service of any injunction in this case (or within such extended period as the Court may direct), a report in writing under oath setting for in detail the manner and form by which it has complied with the injunction requested in Paragraph D above; F. For an award of compensatory damages in an amount subject to proof at trial, together with pre- and post-judgment interest thereon;
For a declaration that Defendants’ infringement of the asserted patents is willful and an award, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 284, of increased damages up to three times the actual damages;
For an order finding that this case is exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285 and awarding Belwith its reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses and costs incurred in this action; and
For an award of such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. Jury Demand
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38(b), Plaintiff demands a trial by jury as to all issues to triable in this action.
Respectfully submitted, By: /s/ James Dasso James D. Dasso (IL Bar No. 6193545) FOLEY & LARDNER LLP 321 North Clark Street, Suite 2800 Chicago, IL 60654-5313 Telephone: 312.832.4500 Facsimile: 312.832.4700 Email: jdasso@foley.com; Attorneys for Plaintiff BELWITH PRODUCTS LLC
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