LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 12, 2009)-Mattress and pillow maker Tempur-Pedic International Inc. is suing a number of mattress makers claiming they have infringed its patent on mattress construction using viscoelastic polyurethane foam.
Two Tempur subsidiaries-Tempur-Pedic Management Inc. and Tempur-Pedic North America L.L.C.-filed a lawsuit June 10 in the U.S. District Court for Western Virginia against companies they believe are violating their patent on proprietary design and construction of mattresses.
The relevant U.S. patent on "Laminated Visco-Elastic Support" covers a variety of mattress constructions with layers of viscoelastic and other foam materials.
"Tempur-Pedic is committed to making significant investments to enhance the performance and durability of our products," Matt Clift, Tempur-Pedic executive vice president of global operations and head of Tempur-Pedic's Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Group, said in a statement. "As part of our long-standing investment strategy, we work diligently to protect our proprietary technologies and we will vigorously defend our intellectual property from infringement."
The companies named in the suit are Anatomic Global Inc., Bragada Inc., Carpenter Co., Classic Sleep Products Inc., Englander Sleep Products L.L.C., Essentia U.S.A. L.L.C., IR Specialty Foam L.L.C., Jeffco Fibres Inc., Sealy Corp., Serta Inc., Serta Restokraft Mattress Co., Sleep Products Inc., Simmons Bedding Co., Spirit Sleep Products L.L.C., Simmons Manufacturing Co. L.L.C., WCW Inc. and World Sleep Products Inc.