Susan M. Andrews —
Claims American made & sold furniture upholstered with the pattern
HIGH POINT — Tietex Interiors has sued upholstery manufacturer American Furniture, claiming that American knocked off a Tietex fabric design.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Greensboro, N.C., claims that

American Furniture made and sold furniture upholstered with unauthorized copies of Tietex’s copyrighted Clarissa fabric, and that American Furniture knowingly and intentionally adopted the Clarissa name for counterfeit goods in an attempt to trade off goodwill developed by Tietex for its Clarissa trademark.

Tietex has asked the court to enjoin American from further sales of counterfeit goods and to require the upholstery maker to pay damages, profits, costs and attorney fees.

Mike Durham, president of Tietex Interiors, said his company “intends to protect its rights against infringers who knock off our designs and sell such counterfeit fabric to the public. This suit is the first of its kind by Tietex, but others might follow as we try to prevent damages to our valuable intellectual property.”

Mike Thomas, president of American Furniture, did not return phone calls from Furniture/Today.