SAN FRANCISCO – An Indiana hoverboard company is fighting back following the patent infringement case filed against them by a Chinese company.
Swagway LLC responded in August to the complaint for patent infringement filed against them by Hangzhou Chic Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd. ("Chic"). The U.S.-based company denied all the accusations of patent infringement brought by the Chinese company to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Swagway countersued, seeking to assert the non-infringement of the patents of Chic. They also aimed to invalidate and halt the enforcement of the patents by Chic based upon improper inventorship. Swagway further pointed out that the Chinese company committed fraudulent acts before the patent office.
The patent infringement complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In a response to the suit, Swagway noted that its position as an industry leader has made the company an open target to accusations like this.
"As an industry leader, we unfortunately are a target for outlandish allegations and defamation by companies like Chic. While we fiercely defend our brand, we choose to focus on more positive matters such as our new Swagway Cares program and reiterating our commitment to quality and consumer safety,” said Jason Wakefield, marketing director for Swagway LLC, in a statement via PR News Wire.
Swagway also filed a separate complaint against Chic. Using the provisions under the Lanham Act and Indiana laws, the hoverboard company intends to collect damages from Chic. According to Swagway, they are entitled to $30,000,000 due to the unfair competition they suffered. The U.S. company also seeks to obtain a restraining order to stop Chic and the agents of the company to have any more contact with the clients of Swagway.
In addition to Chic, the U.S. company also named Jansco Marketing Inc. and COKeM International Ltd. in its complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana on Aug.26.
In that complaint, Chic stated that the company aims to secure its rights to the innovative technology linked to the Smart scooter. The Chinese company released cease and desist letters to several Swagway retailers. In these letters, Chic demanded the halting of patent infringement activities. However, not all the Swagway retailers obeyed the terms of the letter.
This is not the first time Chic and Swagway faced each other in court over the same issue. In July, Chic filed a lawsuit against the U.S. company in Chinese court. In this first complaint, Chic alleged that Swagway exported infringing products to the United States. Concrete pieces of evidence were gathered by the Chinese company in June when Shenzhen customs was able to intercept four export containers of infringing Smart boards. The agency communicated with Chic to alert them of the incident.