Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Best Chairs Settles Trademark Infringement Lawsuit
January 6,
2016 by in Industry, Legal 
In 2014, Best Chairs, Inc. filed in U.S District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, a trademark infringement lawsuit against defendants Hanping Liu as owner and CEO of Factory Direct Wholesale, LLC, Eastern Enterprises, LLC, and Pay Less Here, LLC. Defendants were alleged to have infringed upon Best Chairs’ trademarks by selling imported office chairs and other furniture products thru online outlets such as Amazon.com using the names “BestChair” and “Best Chair”.
In rejecting a motion filed by the defendants to dismiss the lawsuit, Judge Richard Young noted that limited discovery reflected that from January 2013 through September 2014, Factory Direct sold a substantial amount of “BestChair” product throughout the United States, and that based on internet sales to Indiana residents alone, it was determined that Indiana was a proper jurisdiction for the case to move forward. Young also ruled that Best Chairs had been manufacturing chairs for more than 50 years from its base in southwest Indiana, that its trademarks were not generic, and that it had not unreasonably delayed filing the lawsuit. The lawsuit settled on confidential terms shortly after Judge Young’s ruling.
In announcing the settlement of the lawsuit, Best Chairs, Inc.’s President Brian Lange stated, “we will aggressively protect our trademarks from occurrences of infringement. This is especially true when we see our name used to sell imported and inferior seating products online.”