Bridgestone Protects Intellectual Property, Reaches Settlement in Design Patent Rights Lawsuit TreadWright agrees to stop selling Watchman/Sentinel tires
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Dec. 1, 2014) – Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC reached a settlement with TreadWright, LLC and TreadWright Tires, LLC of Houston, Texas, regarding the alleged infringement of Bridgestone’s licensed design patent rights.
TreadWright, LLC and TreadWright Tires, LLC product offerings included a line of retreaded light truck tires that Bridgestone alleged infringed the patented tire tread pattern used for the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo tire. Bridgestone filed a lawsuit on April 17, 2014 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee seeking damages and a permanent injunction against TreadWright, alleging that Bridgestone's licensed design patent rights had been violated. Bridgestone reached a settlement with TreadWright, LLC and TreadWright Tires, LLC which included an agreement by TreadWright to no longer offer the accused Watchman and Sentinel line of retreaded light truck tires.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations is committed to protecting its intellectual property, and will continue to take aggressive action in the courts to dispute any unauthorized use or infringement of Bridgestone’s patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property. These actions are necessary to protect consumers and to maintain and enhance Bridgestone's brand value.
About Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. Reporting into the BATO business unit are the company's Latin American tire operations; the U.S. and Canadian consumer tire businesses; the U.S. and Canadian commercial tire businesses; and Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, which operates the largest network of company-owned automotive service providers in the world. BATO develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. The business unit is focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, motorcycle, agricultural and other tires, as well as retreads, to its customers in the Americas.