Michelin North America Inc. filed a lawsuit against Atturo Tire Corp. and Svizz-One Corp. Ltd. alleging the companies infringed a design patent covering the Michelin Latitude tire tread design.
Filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the suit alleges that two tire models –the Atturo AZ600 and the Thunderer Ranger 007 – infringe the company’s Patent U.S. D483,322 for a tread design, Michelin said.
“This lawsuit demonstrates Michelin’s legal strategy to protect the intellectual property created by its 6,000 research and development employees and an annual R&D investment of about $700 million dollars,” said Paul Grosskopf, Michelin vice president of research and development.
The Atturo brand tires in question are manufactured by Svizz-One in Thailand for the U.S. market.
