MUKILTEO – The maker of Lopi and Avalon wood stoves and fireplace inserts has won a summary judgment in a patent lawsuit brought by a Minnesota-based competitor.
A U.S. District Court judge in Seattle ruled that none of Travis Industries Inc.’s stoves or inserts infringed on patents held by Hearth &Home Technologies of Lakeville, Minn.
Kurt Rumens, president of Mukilteo-based Travis, said in a statement released Friday that he was pleased with the ruling.
“Travis Industries is very proud of its innovative hearth products and is committed to producing many more technologically advanced stoves and fireplaces going forward,” Rumens stated.
Through a spokesman, officials at Hearth &Home declined to comment on the case.
Hearth &Home first made its patent claims in a countersuit filed in October 2003, a few months after Travis first accused the Minnesota company of patent infringement. Hearth &Home claimed Travis was violating three patents, but two of those charges were later withdrawn.
In the remaining charge, Hearth &Home claimed that it had patented a baffle system that stopped uncombusted gas or smoke from leaving the stove until it was burned. Hearth &Home said a similar system in 13 different stove designs sold by Travis infringed on the patent. It asked the federal court for a jury trial to determine the patent violation and any damages to be paid by Travis.
But this month’s summary judgment knocked down the company’s claims before a jury trial ever started. In a 14-page ruling that commented at length on the technical aspects of the two companies’ wood stoves, Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that Travis’ stoves were not similar enough to uphold Hearth &Homes’ claims.
Travis’ original patent lawsuit against its competitor still is pending in the U.S. District Court.
Travis Industries moved in 2003 from Kirkland to 476,000 square feet in Harbour Pointe that had been vacated by the Boeing Co. The company, which employs more than 500 people, markets its stoves and related products under the Avalon, Lopi, Fireplace Xtrordinair and Ring of Fire brand names.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
