Yogibo Patent Infringement Lawsuit

 

Do you know Bean Bag? A cushion-type sofa that is round like beans and made of small fillings is called a bean bag. The shape of the cushion changes by the pressure, so it can be used in various ways as a chair, bed, or sofa. Yogibo is a company that comes to mind when you say ‘bean bag’. Founded in the United States in 2008, it currently has more than 150 stores worldwide. In Korea, it was officially launched in the second half of 2016. You may have seen it at least once if you've ever looked for comfortable furniture as you stay longer at home.

▲ yogibo.kr

 Does the Bean bag has a patent?

Yogibo was confirmed to have applied for a technology related to functional pillows.

▲ wipsglobal.com> Search result

It is a pillow composed of a number of polymeric foam bead-type fillers, an elastic outer cover, and a core part that wraps the filler inside the cover. They said that the filling material moves fluidly within the core and makes the pillow firm in response to the pressure applied to the outside of the cover.

▲ wipsglobal.com> US patent 10869558

Who is the defendant,

Recently, Yogibo filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US District Court. The defendants are Galaxy Relaxation, LLC and John Fiorentino.

Galaxy Relaxation is a bean bag maker called Moonpod, and John Fiorentino is the CEO and founder of Galaxy Relaxation. Moonpod has also received more than a million dollars in sponsorship from the famous funding site, Kickstarter.

▲ moonpod.co

The two companies' products look similar in appearance. Yogibo has been selling various lines of products such as sofas, pillows, and footrests based on its patents. The plaintiff stated that the defendant had purchased more than 10 of the plaintiff's products for about eight months from October 2017 to May 2018. At the time, they submitted the purchase record stating that the delivery destination was the location of another company (The Good Ones, Inc) established by the defendant in 2016. In addition, the plaintiff noted that the defendant established Galaxy Relaxation about a month after starting the purchase (Nov. 2017), and later announced the invention of Moonpod.

▲ yogibo.com
(Yogibo product that the plaintiff stated that the defendant purchased)

Doubts about the trademark,

The plaintiff claims that the defendant's brand, Moonpod, was also copied from Yogibo's products, Yogibo Moon and Yogibo Pod.

▲ yogibo.com

Searched for the trademark of Moonpod, the time of first use is stated as June 2018, and it seems that it was filed in the U.S. on October 20, 2018 and was registered in August 2019.

▲ intomark.com

The plaintiff stated that on October 25, 2018, it had notified the defendant regarding patent infringement. It is argued that the defendant has intentionally infringed the patent because the defendant has continued business since then. As the lawsuit has just begun, the defendant has not yet responded. We'll see how it goes.