U.S. agency confirms Kingsdown's mattress diagnostic system patent

David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 18, 2012

MEBANE, N.C. — Top 10 bedding producer Kingsdown said it has been notified that the U.S Patent and Trademark Office has confirmed the validity of its Patent No. 6,585,328 for a mattress diagnostic system.

In a Jan. 6 ruling, the Patent Office denied King Koil Licensing Co.'s attempt to invalidate the patent, Kingsdown said.

Last year, Kingsdown served a U.S. District Court complaint against King Koil/Comfort Solutions asserting that it infringed on the patent and several trademarks related to Kingsdown's bedMatch technology. The recent ruling recognizes the validity of the patent-protected technology Kingsdown developed for its bedMatch system, Kingsdown officials said.

Comfort Solutions officials said they have no comment on the court ruling at this time.

Kingsdown officials hailed the ruling as an indication of the company's leadership in the sleep diagnostics arena.

"We're very happy that the U.S Patent and Trademark Office has affirmed our position as the authority in sleep diagnostics," said Kingsdown Chairman and CEO Eric Hinshaw. "We own the patent- protected bedMatch technology which has revolutionized the way bedding is sold. Kingsdown was the first to use science to help a consumer find the right mattress for their body type. This ruling should assure our dealers that we will always vigorously defend their right to use our system without fear of others trying to copy our intellectual property."

Kingsdown said the bedMatch system is "the culmination of over 15 years of research and development and more than 7 million profiles."

The system uses 18 statistical measurements and over 1,000 calculations to assist the consumer in selecting the best mattress and pillow for his or her body type. Product features and comfort feels from multiple manufacturers are programmed into each bedMatch machine. Printed recommendations provide sales associates and shoppers a reference guide to help select the brand and mattress that best fits their postural support requirement, Kingsdown officials said.

Kingsdown sued Comfort Solutions last year for patent and trademark infringement and unfair business practices related to Comfort Solutions' Sleep iD diagnostic system.

Comfort Solutions officials responded at that time that they did not believe their company was infringing on any of the Kingsdown patents in question.