North Carolina Court Tosses Thread-Count Lawsuit
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A lawsuit brought by Indian textile exporter Globe Cotyarn, Pvt. Ltd., against technology and patent licensing company AAVN, Inc., over the manufacture of high-thread-count textiles was dismissed this week in the Middle District of North Carolina Court.
The federal complaint sought to invalidate 10 of AAVN’s patents related to manufacturing high-thread-count textiles, specifically cotton bedsheets. The Dallas-based company’s patented Alpha Cotton chief value cotton (CVC)-rich sheeting is licensed to a number of manufacturers. And the validity of those patents has been previously called into question, with judicial proceedings in the Southern District of New York dismissed or settled with acknowledgement of the validity of AAVN’s patents.
In 2017, AAVN, whose partners include Trident Group and Birla Century, successfully appealed to the United States International Trade Commission to prohibit the import of textiles with falsely labeled thread counts.
“AAVN is going to defend its patent to maintain the integrity of its products and protect consumers,” said Cory Johnson of Winstead PC, who represented AAVN. “Since AAVN patents, the high thread count cotton rich sheets have become one of the largest segments in sheets, defining aspirational luxury and annual retail sales of more than $1 billion.”
