Cocona’s lawsuit against outdoor brands to proceed
10/11/2017
The patent infringement case will be heard in Cocona’s home state of Colorado after a judge rejected objections from Columbia and The North Face.
It concerns Cocona’s 37.5 laminate technology, which consists of a membrane enhanced with active particles. This material replaces the inside layer of a hardshell fabric with a functional print.
Cocona says the technology, for which it received a patent in 2015, eliminates the trade-off between membrane protection and membrane performance that takes place in traditional 2.5-layer print technology.
It filed the lawsuit against Columbia and The North Face in November 2016 for selling products enhanced with active particles in violation of Cocona’s patent rights.
Reacting to the court ruling, Cocona CEO Jeff Bowman said: “Cocona is pleased, of course, that all arguments to separate, transfer, and dismiss failed to persuade the court. We prefer to create mutually-beneficial business relationships with partners interested in using our proprietary technology. However, when a company is using our patented technology without permission, Cocona has no choice but to take the matter to a court of law regardless of how powerful their legal departments are.”
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