Intex Recreation Corp. of Long Beach, Calif. filed a Sec. 337 complaint May 19 with the International Trade Commission seeking to block the importation of air beds it alleges violate two patents it licensed in 2014 from another Chinese company.
The complaint alleges Bestway Global Holdings Inc. of Shanghai, China and various of its affiliates, including Bestway USA Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz. are importing five models of airbeds into the United States that violate U.S. Patent Nos. 8,562.773 (‘773 patent) and 9,156,203 (‘203 patent).
Those models, which are marketed as Bestway “Comfort Cell Tech™” airbeds and sold by Sears, Walmart and K-Mart, use what Bestway describes as either a “Y-Beam or an “I-Beam” design, Intex alleges in its petition.
“On information and belief, every Bestway Comfort Cell Tech™ airbed-including the Y-Beam and I-Beam models identified in Table 1-is manufactured by methods that infringe the Asserted Patents,” Intex’s complaint alleges.
Both patents cover methods of manufacturing inflatable structures, such as beds, so that they retain a specific shape when inflated.
In addition to immediate relief, Intex is seeking a cease and desist order that would prevent the respondents from importing, selling for importation, marketing, distributing, selling, offering for sale, warehousing inventory for distribution or otherwise causing the importation of the cited products to the United States.
The ITC is now soliciting comments to see whether the relief sought by Intex would affect consumers and other U.S. business.
