Columbia Sportswear Sues Company Over Patented Fabric

Columbia Sportswear has revived a patent infringement complaint against a Poway, Calif. company, contending Seirus Innovative Accessories is using a Columbia-patented heat-reflective material without the Washington County-based company's permission.

The lawsuit is essentially a repeat of another case Columbia pursued about a year ago.

That case, however, was filed in a federal court in Washington state because Columbia could not prove Seirus products containing the disputed fabric were being sold in Oregon. In the lawsuit filed earlier this month in federal court in Portland, however, Columbia contends it has evidence Seirus products have been sold at several retailers in Oregon.