Raffel also concerned about safety issues as a
result of defects reported from use of Man
Wah "knock-offs"
GERMANTOWN, Wis., July 1, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Following its historic $100
million-plus verdict in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Wisconsin,
Raffel Systems, LLC, a global producer of controls and comfort
systems for motion furniture and a variety of other end markets,
today called on Man Wah to cease the
theft of the company's patented motion furniture cup-holders and
any further infringements.
On June 17, 2022, a federal jury
in Milwaukee found Man Wah liable for willful trade dress
infringement, misappropriation of trade dress, false patent marking
and willful patent infringement related to Raffel's integrated
illuminated cup holder for motion furniture. Specifically, the jury
awarded Raffel $97.5 million in
punitive damages and $8.7 million in
actual damages, totaling $106.2
million. The verdict is one of the largest ever in the
Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Two outside attorneys for Raffel pointed out additional
issues.
"We are concerned that defects reported by consumers of the cup
holders that were found by the jury to infringe on Raffel's patents
could represent safety risks," said Raffel's lead trial
counsel John Scheller of Michael
Best & Friedrich LLP.
Meanwhile, Washington,
D.C.-based attorney Lanny Davis of the law firm
Davis Goldberg & Galper PLLC said, "Man
Wah's conduct leading to the jury verdict could constitute
unfair competition."
Recent coverage of the jury verdict can be found here and
here.
"This case is about right and wrong," Raffel Executive Chairman
Paul Stangl said. "As a small
company guided by innovation, our intellectual property could not
be more important. We will continue our fight to show Man Wah and all the world's biggest companies
that intellectual property must be respected."
"There is evidence Man Wah is
continuing its practice of turning a blind-eye to intellectual
property, such as continuing to sell integrated cup holders that
infringe Raffel patents while passing off the product as its own
invention," Stangl continued.
About Raffel Systems
Since 1982, Raffel Systems has
been the industry innovator in developing electronic controls and
comfort solutions for multiple end markets. Headquartered in
Germantown, Wisconsin, Raffel is a
global manufacturer providing design, engineering, technical sales,
and customer service throughout North
America, Asia and
Europe. Through its Chinese
subsidiary, Raffel also has manufacturing, engineering and sales in
mainland China.
Media Contact:
Lincoln
Zweig
lzweig@dggpllc.com
(202) 906-0292
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SOURCE Raffel Systems