Press Releases

CHICAGO -- On May 11, 2005, Judge John W. Darrah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that Intex Recreation Corporation was in contempt of a post-trial injunction, which prohibited further infringement of Aero Products International’s patent, due to Intex’s sale of a similar product to that found to infringe. In September 2004, the Court entered a permanent injunction enjoining Intex from further infringement of Aero’s ‘726 patent relating to the AeroBed® inflatable air mattress. Aero is represented by the intellectual property firm Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione. 

Intex claimed that this second product was sufficiently different in design as to warrant a separate lawsuit, thus subjecting Aero to the expense of an additional lengthy trial. However, the Court disagreed and ruled that the second product also infringed Aero’s patent rights and that Intex was in contempt of the permanent injunction. Damage calculations are pending.

“We were surprised that Intex sold the product it did in the wake of a jury’s finding of willful infringement and are pleased that Judge Darrah agreed with Aero and found Intex in contempt,” said William H. Frankel, lead counsel for Aero and a litigator at Brinks. Other members of the legal team from Brinks include Michael P. Chu, Mark H. Remus and David H. Bluestone. 

The case, Aero Products International, Inc. v. Intex Recreation Corporation; Quality Trading, Inc; and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., involved technology that allows a user to quickly inflate an air mattress and easily adjust its firmness using a unique comfort control feature that Aero, of Wauconda, Illinois, promotes with its ONE TOUCH® trademark.

In February 2004, a jury found that Intex willfully infringed Aero’s patent and trademark rights and awarded Aero damages of $2.95 million for patent infringement and $1 million for trademark infringement. In July 2004, the judge doubled the patent damages award to $5.9 million based on the jury’s finding of willful infringement and also awarded Aero its attorneys’ fees.

Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione provides intellectual property legal services worldwide. The firm is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the country, with approximately 150 attorneys who specialize in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, Internet, unfair competition, related licensing matters and intellectual asset management.