Culp pursues copycats
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 1, 2010
HIGH POINT —
Fabric and mattress ticking maker Culp Inc. said it has reached agreements with unnamed customers and fabric suppliers over copyrighted fabric designs and will pursue others who are using unauthorized versions of its designs.
The company said terms of the agreements are confidential.
The designs include, but are not limited to, Culp's popular faux leather fabrics — Palomino, Wrangler, Stampede, Congo, Gunslinger, Nabuck, Bonanza, Lambskin, Nabook and Buckskin.
In addition, Culp said it is engaged in enforcement proceedings against other fabric suppliers, and in some case, their owners. Parties named in a news release are Global Textile Alliance, Huntington Fabrics and Gum Tree Fabrics.
In a written statement, Gum Tree President Donna Marecle said the company has been trying unsuccessfully to get information from Culp on the copyright in question, which “is very questionable because it looks like a very common item that has been available from many sources for many years. That look was developed by the apparel industry previous to the furniture industry.”
“This is very important,” she added, “because the specimen submitted by Culp to the Copyright Office to support its registration is no longer available, and the Copyright Office approved the copyright only based on the exact design reflected in that specimen. Accordingly, in part because of Culp's lack of cooperation, it is impossible to determine whether our product even is the same as what Culp claims to be its copyrighted work, or if what Culp claims to be its copyright work was actually reflected in what it provided to the Copyright Office.”
Officials at Global Textile and Huntington did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Culp said it is pursuing agreements with several major customers to ensure that the company will be the exclusive provider of its copyrighted designs.
“Our goal is to rid the market of unauthorized versions of our fabric designs,” said Rob Culp, chairman. “Culp will do whatever it takes to protect ourselves, our valued customers and retailers from the unlawful violation of our rights. We believe our customers deserve it. We also welcome any involvement from retailers in these efforts.”
Culp began taking action against knockoffs of its fabrics after the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that Palomino, Stampede and Wrangler were all copyright protected retroactive to 2006, the year the designs were created. The company called that court's action a landmark decision because it took the products out of the “commodity” classification and gave them a protected status.
At the time, the company said the fabrics were top sellers, with more than 15 million yards in the marketplace and about that much yardage illegally duplicated by other companies.
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