Tempur-Pedic drops patent infringement lawsuit

ATLANTA (Nov. 2, 3:25 p.m. ET) -- Tempur-Pedic Management Inc. and Tempur-Pedic North America LLC have collectively dropped Tempur's patent infringement lawsuit brought against 17 US mattress manufacturers in June, according to an Oct. 28 statement from Simmons Bedding Co.

Simmons, a US manufacturer of bedding products, was one of 17 manufacturers named in the suit.

In the lawsuit, Tempur alleged that two Simmons products had infringed its patent: “Laminated Visco-Elastic Support” (No 7 507 468). In response, Simmons requested that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) “re-examine the validity of the '468 Patent,” which Tempur has now apparently cited as the impetus for its decision to dismiss the lawsuit, the statement said.

“We're pleased that Tempur-Pedic has made the decision to end this legal action against Simmons,” said Stephen Fendrich, ceo of Simmons. “We maintain that the '468 Patent is not valid and its review by the USPTO through the re-examination process remains pending,” he added.

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