Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
South Bend, Indiana – Patent lawyers for Dometic, LLC of Elkhart, IN, filed a patent infringement suit alleging Carefree/Scott Fetzer Company (d/b/a Carefree of Colorado) of Broomfield, CO, has infringed Patent No. 5,752,536, titled LOCKING MECHANISM FOR SLIDE-OUT ROOM COVER, as issued by the U.S. Patent Office.
Citing photographs and the product’s installation guide, the complaint claims that the defendant is selling a do-it-yourself retractable awning assembly for mounting over slide-out rooms on recreational vehicles and trailers. It is alleged that this product literally, or by equivalents, infringes the claims of the ‘536 patent and that the defendant further contributes to infringement of the patent by selling a substantially similar awning assembly to vehicle manufacturers for use as OEM equipment
This case has been assigned to Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen and Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterlein in the Northern District of Indiana, and assigned case no. 3:10-cv-00108-JVB-CAN.
Practice Tip: A patent may be infringed not only by an apparatus or activity which literally matches the language of one or more of the patent’s claims, but also by an equivalent which performs substantially the same function in substantially the same way to yield substantially the same result, which is why the plaintiff’s complaint includes an allegation of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents.
.Complaint – Dometic v. Carefree
Further information about this case is as follows:
Filed: March 31, 2010 as 3:2010cv00108 Updated: April 7, 2010 02:31:20
Plaintiff: Dometic LLC
Defendant: Carefree/Scott Fetzer Company
Presiding Judge:Judge Joseph S Van Bokkelen
Referring Judge:Magistrate Judge Christopher A Nuechterlein
Cause Of Action: Patent Infringement
Seventh Circuit > Indiana > Northern District Court
Type:Intellectual Property > Patent