North Face and Columbia suffer legal setback in Cocona patent case

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Nov 9, 2017

A court has agreed with Cocona and denied a request for dismissal made by The North Face and Columbia Sportswear in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Cocona over its 37.5 laminate insulating technology.

Cocona first sued both The North Face's VF Corporation and Columbia Sportswear (Columbia) in November 2016 in Colorado federal court for using its patented insulation technology without a license.

The North Face and Columbia had brought a number of procedural arguments to get the case dismissed. The apparel companies argued they should be separate cases against Cocona, and they also argued for a change of venue. Columbia brought the bulk of the procedural objections.

The court disagreed and has granted Cocona's motion to consolidate. The case will stay in Colorado as well.

"When a company is using our patented technology without permission, Cocona has no choice but to take the matter to a court of law regardless of how powerful their legal departments are," said Jeff Bowman, Cocona CEO.

The Cocona patent teaches a method to replace a layer of insulation with a functional print. It reduces a traditional 3 layer hardshell outerwear piece to a 2.5 layer lighter, quieter and thinner jacket which has become increasingly popular in the outdoor market.

Bowman continued, "As a technology company with dozens of issued patents, we fiercely defend our intellectual property against companies that seek to exploit Cocona's patented technologies without permission."

The North Face had previously worked with Cocona and paid for proprietary technology, however that relationship has since ended. According to Cocona's statement, it had previously developed and registered a technology named Flashdry which The North Face, legally transferred when they were a customer. Current Cocona customers include Carhartt, Trek, Ride and Rip Curl.

Cocona has owned the patent for 37.5 technology since 2015. The company is based in Boulder, Co. The company has released a statement saying it will continue "aggressively pursuing" this litigation as well as against any companies that infringe on its patents in the future.