BABY JOGGER™ FILES SUIT AGAINST BRITAX FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT OF THE CITY MINI STROLLER
(Richmond,
Virginia) August 15, 2012 – The Baby Jogger Company, original inventor and
leading manufacturer of the three wheeled jogger and all-terrain stroller,
today filed a lawsuit against Britax Child Safety, Inc. (“Britax”) in the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The suit involves Baby Jogger’s patented and
proprietary Quick-Fold Technology and asserts claims against Britax for patent
infringement, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition based upon
Britax’s attempt to knock off one of the most popular and best
designed strollers on the market, the City Mini®, a sales leader in its market
segment each year since 2007.
The
suit asserts that “[t]hrough its use, adoption, appropriation and/or copying of the
City Mini Trade Dress, without authorization, Britax is attempting to “catch
up” with an established competitor, Baby Jogger, and is misleading, deceiving
and/or confusing consumers in the marketplace as to the source, origin,
sponsorship or approval of the B-Agile stroller.” In
addition, the suit alleges that “Britax
began using an advertisement for its B-Agile stroller that mimicked a
long-running advertisement by Baby Jogger showing how the quick-fold technology
of the City Mini works,” resulting in “consumers [] expressing uncertainty and
confusion regarding the source of the B-Agile stroller, whether Baby Jogger had
authorized the B-Agile design, and whether Baby Jogger had licensed Britax to
make the B-Agile stroller, among other things.”
“Since
its introduction in 2007, The City Series has long been a consumer favorite for
its ability to navigate urban environments, its durability and Quick-Fold
mechanism,” explains Mark Zehfuss, CEO of Baby Jogger. “As evidenced by the 31 awards Baby Jogger has
received worldwide in the last four years for safety and design innovation, we
work hard to develop innovative designs that improve the safety and utility of
our strollers and we will protect the intellectual property behind these
innovations.”
The
winner of over seven awards for safety, performance and durability from
organizations such as the NAPPA, PTPA, iParenting Media and others, cement the
City Mini’s position as the leading lightweight stroller. Weighing in at only 16.8 pounds, the City
Mini single operates with the patented Quick-Fold Technology, making folding
and storage a one-handed operation. The
City Mini double shares the same features as the single, weighs 23 pounds and
can fit through a standard 30” door. Baby
Jogger’s City Mini strollers are built by hand, one at a time, to ensure
unsurpassed quality and unparalleled safety. Baby Jogger uses the highest quality
materials and tests each stroller beyond the minimum requirements dictated by
ASTM International and European standard EN-1888.
About The Baby Jogger Company
Established in
1984, Baby Jogger® is the original inventor and leading manufacturer of the
three wheeled jogging stroller and all-terrain stroller. Baby Jogger strollers
offer an array of innovative features to fit every parent’s needs – from easy
maneuvering swivel wheels and unique suspension systems to high performance 20
inch wheels and stylish functionality, each stroller is designed to help make
parents’ lives easier. In 2004, Baby Jogger unveiled its patented Quick-Fold
Technology, which enables users to fold the stroller in half with one quick and
simple step. In 2007, Baby Jogger expanded upon their standard use strollers to
develop the City Series – an extensive array of urban use and all-terrain
strollers designed for fashion forward parents. The City Series’ modern designs have been embraced worldwide and are in high
demand with a wide clientele ranging from the average American family to
Hollywood’s top celebrities. In addition, all Baby Jogger products have
won over 17 design and innovation awards in the past four years and are safety
certified by one of the world’s most well respected independent testing
organizations, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
Btw, we asked Britax to comment, and are awaiting their response.
ReplyDeleteSue and sue everywhere! That is what the trending topic nowadays. It is because nobody wants to have something copied from them.
ReplyDeleteThis stroller is light in weight , smart in technolgy, efficient in service which is for less price.
ReplyDeleteVery convinient use. Specially very useful while you travel in flights(bot domestic and international).
It is multi utility stroller. We love it, me and my friend both have one and happy. More value for the price.
light weight strollers
Wait until it falls apart. Baby Jogger has a life time warranty and that Britax garbage will disintigrate.
ReplyDelete