On Mar. 16, 2015 Cocona, maker of patented 37.5 technology use in performance apparel and bedding, filed a request for a declaratory judgment with the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, Case No. 15-cv-00541, that Cocona does not infringe Sheex U.S. Patent Nos. 8,402,580 and 8,566,982.
Sheex had previously filed a complaint against Cocona for patent infringement in federal court in Delaware, Case No. 1:14-cv-01398-LPS-CJB, and issued public statements that Cocona infringed its patent rights. Sheex did not pursue the case and it was ultimately dismissed, depriving Cocona of the opportunity to defend itself against Sheex’s public claims of infringement. As part of the dismissal, Sheex also preserved its right to re-assert its claims against Cocona.
In order to protect itself from further meritless accusations of infringement and to clarify that its products and technology do not infringe any patent rights asserted by Sheex, Cocona filed the present request for declaratory judgment. As a patent holder itself, Cocona fully respects the intellectual property rights of others and is committed to both valid IP protection and defense against claims it believes to be without merit.
Cocona asserts that Sheex’s claims were without merit for several reasons. Specifically, Cocona licenses its proprietary 37.5 technology that is used in performance bedding, it does not manufacture or sell knitted sheets, and therefore cannot infringe any of Sheex’s asserted patents. In addition, Cocona’s patented 37.5 technology applies to the yarn and not the method by which the sheets are sewn, and therefore does not infringe any of Sheex’s patent claims.
“To their credit, Sheex did the right thing when presented with the facts in this case and dismissed their complaint against Cocona. As much as I detest spending money on lawyers to defend against frivolous lawsuits, Cocona is taking this action to protect against any future litigation,” commented Cocona CEO Jeff Bowman.
