Michelin settles design patent suit with repair company
Car tyre manufacturer Michelin has settled its design patent infringement dispute over tyre tread designs with a Nashville-based repair company.
The undisclosed settlement was signed by US District Judge Jon McCalla at the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on Monday, September 11.
McCalla dismissed the case with prejudice, with both sides to bear their own costs and attorneys’ fees.
In July, WIPR reported that Michelin had sued Tire Recappers for offering for sale a range of tyres with tread designs that “directly infringed and continues to directly infringe” its patents.
The two patents in question, US numbers D530,266 and D639,235, relate to tread designs which enable better grip in different terrains.
Michelin claimed that these patents were infringed by the Cross Grip and the All Position Highway tyres sold by Tire Recappers.
Currently, both sets of tyres remain on search results on the Tire Recappers website.
“The claimed design of the ‘266 patent and the tread design of at least Tire Recappers’ Cross Grip tires are substantially the same,” Michelin stated in the claim.
Michelin was seeking injunctive relief, damages, a transfer of profits derived from the alleged infringement, and costs and attorneys’ fees.
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