STAHLS’ (UPIC: STAH0001) reports that it has successfully defended its intellectual property rights by reaching a wide-ranging settlement in a federal lawsuit. The three defendants in the case have agreed to cease their infringement of the Sterling Heights, Michigan-based supplier’s patents, trademarks and copyrighted content related to its Hotronix® FUSION® heat press equipment, including a specific agreement to stop importation and sales of the infringing products in the United States.
STAHLS’ designs, builds and distributes heat press technology and hardware that allow its customers to provide on-demand garment personalization. STAHLS’ is the largest manufacturer of heat presses in the world.
“STAHLS’ has dozens of issued patents and pending applications, as well as many federally registered trademarks,” says Ted Stahl, executive chairman at STAHLS’. “We have made significant investments in research and development to design the most technologically advanced heat press on the market, and we will fight back against threats to our intellectual property.”
Upon becoming aware of the infringing products, STAHLS’ intellectual property counsel Fishman Stewart moved to assert STAHLS’ intellectual property rights. Within 24 hours from the filing of the lawsuit, the defendants removed the infringing products from their websites as well as third-party sites. In addition, the defendants immediately requested settlement of the complaint with STAHLS’. During the same time period, STAHLS’ worked with eBay, Amazon and Facebook to take down infringing auctions, store offerings and advertising content. Shortly thereafter, the defendants executed the comprehensive settlement agreement.
“STAHLS’ has experienced significant growth as we’ve expanded our global footprint and strengthened our development, manufacturing and distribution capabilities,” says Chris Lawson, CEO at STAHLS’. “As we continue to innovate to meet ever-changing demands of today’s textile and garment decoration industry, we will move quickly whenever and wherever necessary to protect our customers against knockoff imitations looking to capitalize on STAHLS’ good name.”
