Carlini Targets Torch over Motorcycle Handlebar

On Monday, November 05, 2012, Carlini Design (plaintiff) filed a suit against Torch (defendant) for patent infringement in the U.S. District Court of California (case no. 8:12-cv-01913).

Carlini Design manufactures handlebars, Harley parts and accessories, and custom motorcycle parts including Ape Hangers and Drag Bars. Torch Industries is a manufacturer of custom built bikes, handlebars, bagger bars and bobber bars.

The patent USD629343 involved in this suit is assigned to Carlini (as per face page). The patent entitled Handlebar was issued on December 21, 2010 and expires[i] on June 24, 2024. Fig.1 is handlebar (sold under the trademark Evil Apes) that is covered by the design patent ‘343.

Plaintiff has filed a suit against the defendant for sale of a motorcycle handlebar considerably identical to the ornamental design of the ‘343 patent. According to the complaint, Fig. 2 is a picture of the accused product as depicted on Torch’s website:

 

The plaintiff has filed suit against the companies listed below:

Company	Case No.	Date Filed	Patent Involved	Status
Robert Smith	8:11-cv-01745	11/10/2011	D629343	Pending
Nash Motorcycle	8:11-cv-00185	02/02/2011	D604212	Closed
Monkey Bars	2:10-cv-07105	09/23/2010	-	Pending

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[i] Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.