Oakley Inc (ÂOakleyÂ) (a sports apparel brand) has raised allegation against the company Third Coast regarding its trade marked tilted eyeglass with the registered D180 patent (US number D659, 180).
Oakley is a company based out in Lake Forest California and is a subsidiary of the Italian company Luxottica (the worldÂs largest company in the eyewear industry).
Third Coast Products produces safety glasses that Oakley have stated appear to the ordinary observer to have substantial similarities to the claims of its D180 patent. Oakley specifically alleges that Third Coast infringed its patented titled ÂEyeglass design.
According to the filing records, Third Coast sells the infringing product as the iLumen8 UV Safety Glasses through online outlets e.g. Amazon. Oakley has alleged that Third Coast has purposely infringed its design patent by producing a product that is nearly identical to its original patented design.
Prior to these allegations, Oakley affirms that Third Coast have not obtained a licence or permission to use any of the elements contained in its D180 patent. Consequently, the sports apparel brand is seeking costs, fees and triple damages (trebling of the original award that would have been awarded as punitive damages) due to the alleged recklessness by Third CoastÂs actions, and the resulting profits from the alleged infringing activity.
In August 2018, Oakley accused the company Wholesale In Motion Group of wilfully producing infringing products regarding its patent designs and trade marks. As the Oakley and its parent company are no stranger to taking legal action to protects its brands, there is a high probability that this legal suit will yield some fruit for it.
