Hey, there! Log in / Register
Beverly company has patent on foldable pet steps; it's suing competitors that don't
By adamg on Fri, 02/19/2016 - 10:01am
One is finely crafted, the other is drek, at least according to lawsuit
A Beverly company that holds a patent on retractable steps to let aging or stubby little pets get into bed with you on their own says two competitors are violating its patents - and ruining its reputation - by selling a similar product.
In a lawsuit filed this week in US District Court in Boston, PetEdge of Beverly charges Coleman of Delaware and Unique Petz of New York are violating its 2009 patent for Folding pet ramp and steps. Plus, Coleman's and Unique Petz's product is just a cheap knockoff, the company charges:
PetEdge's pet ramp/steps are finely crafted, using sturdy, high quality and attractive materials. They are sold at premium prices, reflecting their craftsmanship, sturdy construction, and patented innovation. The Accused Product, on the other hand, is offered at far lower prices and appear to be constructed from cheaper, lower quality materials. As such, Coleman's and Unique Petz's marketing and sales of the Accused Product is damaging PetEdge’s reputation as a retailer of high-quality pet-related merchandise and its standing in the marketplace. In addition, the lower price point of the Accused Products is causing PetEdge to suffer lost profits and price erosion.
PetEdge wants a judge to order Coleman Unique Petz to stop selling their steps, destroy all the steps they have and then issue a recall and destroy those steps as well. Also, PetEdge wants triple damages and lawyers' fees.
PetEdge's complete complaint (1.1M PDF).
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Brass ones
"We invented stairs." Yeah, I get the feeling the Greeks or even the Babylonians beat you to that. I hope they never lay off an employee, and if they do, I hope said employee calls them out on paying a lawyer instead of him or her.
Also, if the competitor's stairs are so awful, you should have nothing to worry about, right? Or do they really believe that people are too stupid to know the difference between wood and folding metal?
Brass ones
Or desperation? Perhaps their sales aren't so good because they haven't figured out that the average person isn't guiilble enough to buy a "doggie stair" for a pet that's perfectly capable of cimbing onto a bed..
Funny, I thought the opposite
Funny, I thought the opposite. I like the wooden ones and figure I'll need to get something like that in a few years. They look sturdy and won't tip over.
I've a very high bed and while my dog has no problem clearing it now, I imagine in a few years she will. (Actually I may need them myself in a few years)
Having had a dog with medical issues, even jumping low heights were out of the question with my old boy Buddy.
I'm sure you're thinking the obvious - then don't let the dog on the bed!
That'll never happen. It's her home too.
Appreciate that this product could be useful
for older pets with certain medical issues, and didn't mean any disrespect to owners of such pets. And I would never advocate "keep the dog off the bed" as a solution.
Rather, I was pointing out that perhaps the manufacturer of the stairs may have overestimated the sales volume of their product (not uncommon, especially for smaller businesses), and is using an admittedly nebulous lawsuit to offset that issue.
Disclaimer - Over the years, I've had several cats that lived (on average) to 17 or 18 years old, albiet with issues in their later years. Always let them share my bed, and they never had issues with jumping on and off the bed - even when they developed mobility problems.
My Cat
My Cat is now a ripe age of 17.. I actually bought something similar because he could no longer get on the bed. But he wont use it for some reason.
So I keep a few books near my nighstand on the floor, and it's enough to go floor -> books -> nighttable -> bed. He's appreciative.. he will cry if he can't get into bed with me.
Not just bed access
For some people with dogs with limited mobility, these really help them get into the hatch of an SUV.
I've never had a cat who got too old to jump in to bed, but Marilyn Murrow was pretty creaky once she hit 16. I had a set of steps so that she could make it into her window hammock (about 3.5 feet off the ground) and roast in the sun whenever she cared to. She passed away at the age of 18.
for injured dogs, not just short dogs
Ever try to get a 90lb injured dog into the back of an SUV? I own a set of these. See my comment downthread.
Hey Will
When's your next trivia gig?
(snicker)
Really
A company is allowed to have exclusive patent rights to what is nothing more than a glorified step stool?
But that's the new American way I guess. Somebody comes out with a competing product that looks NOTHING like your product, so you must $ue them anyway in hopes of getting a large undeserved lottery payment.
Yup that's exactly right. It
Yup that's exactly right. It is not the new American way, it is the way it has always worked. The government will basically grant a patent for two main categories, A new product/technology etc, or a dramatic improvement on an existing patented product/tech. If you were the owner of said company and went through all the government red tape involved in securing a patent for your idea and someone comes along and starts selling a cheaper less quality product without licensing your patent first then hell yes the correct action is to bring litigation. Looks have nothing to do with it. Yes the competitors are using a different material, but the overall function of the product is the same which is a majority of a patent.
I am a photographer, I license the photos with the US copyright office. That way if I come across someone using my work without my permission I then have the ability to file a lawsuit in Federal court. If I don't file for copyright of my work I don't have option to take the offender to court. It is the same case here.
Except that I fail to see
what's so unique or innovative about the step stool that it justifies a patent. And I fail to see what's so similar about the competing product that it justifies filing a patent infringement lawsuit (for one thing, one product is wood and the other is metal.)
That's what I was getting at with my "new American way" comment - people are in such a rush to sue - with the hopes of reaping a big ca$$$$h windfall - that they'll create very flimsy "justifications" to do so.
In short - this is a FRIGGIN set of stairs, not a jet fighter.
Stairs to ramp
You can change the stairs to be a ramp ... that's pretty cool - as long as all the moving parts continue to work and structurally it holds the pet in question in either setup.
So yeah - not a jet fighter, but more than a set of stairs.
Exactly as ABBQ says it is a
Exactly as ABBQ says it is a set of stairs that converts to a ramp. And that made it unique enough in the eyes of the patent office to issue a patent to the company that wanted to market and sell it. The materials of the product are not enough of a change to constitute it NOT being a violation of the patent, they created a product that functioned in the same way which is where the problem lies in the eyes of the original company. PetEdge could of decided to make the product in multiple materials, but they hold the patent so they can do it.
Give the dog a nice bed of its own.
ON THE FLOOR. no stairs necessary.
My dog has a nicer bed than I do (bigass down-filled 'pillow'....easily 4x the area of his body). As a result, he has no interest in climbing up onto my less-comfortable bed. Problem solved, no stairs needed.
from an owner of these steps
I actually own a set of these steps. Got them last year when our 10 yo, 90lb pound-puppy tore her ACL. We needed these in order to get her into the back of the SUV for transport to/from the vet, surgical center, etc. She did not like the flimsy metal ramps, but would use this one. The photos can't show how solid these steps are. The unit did not shake or buckle when our dog walked on it. It also folded down neatly so that I was able to easily carry it in the car. I doubt those copycat steps would hold the weight of a 90lb dog without shaking.
The design is different from others I've seen. There's a wood piece for each step that wedges into the next step, distributing the load and stabilizing the unit. So does it deserve a patent? I'd say so. And the company is right, this is a finely crafted item. It's furniture quality.
No, I don't work for the company. I've posted here sporadically in the last several years. Adam can probably check based on the email address.
I'm not a lawyer, but....
My understanding (as an engineer, not a lawyer) was a patent was only applicable for an invention where all the claims were met.
It's pretty obvious that the Colman steps aren't carpeted, and that was one of the claims in the patent (#20).
So why is this an issue? As long at the defense lawyer is capable then it will probably be laughed out of court.