Following its historic $100 million-plus verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Raffel Systems, LLC plans to urge three federal agencies to investigate Chinese furniture manufacturer Man Wah Holdings Ltd., Inc. for alleged unfair competition practices and intellectual property theft.

Furniture

Raffel Systems won $106 million verdict against Chinese furniture giant Man Wah

Raffel Systems won $106 million verdict against Chinese furniture giant Man Wah

Image: Depositphotos

Following its historic $100 million-plus verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Raffel Systems, LLC, a global producer of controls and comfort systems for motion furniture and a variety of other end markets, announced plans to urge three federal agencies to investigate Chinese furniture manufacturer Man Wah Holdings Ltd., Inc. for alleged unfair competition practices and intellectual property theft.

On June 17, 2022, a federal jury in Wisconsin found Man Wah liable for willful trade dress infringement, misappropriation of trade dress, false patent marking and willful patent infringement related to Raffel’s integrated illuminated cup holder for motion furniture. Specifically, the jury awarded Raffel $97.5 million in punitive damages and $8.7 million in actual damages, totaling $106.2 million. The verdict is one of the largest ever in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Specifically, Raffel announced it is considering requesting an investigation for illegal and unfair competition by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC). ITC penalties could include ordering the exclusion of Man Wah imports into the United States for a certain time period and other financial sanctions. 

Raffel is also considering asking the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to investigate and possibly recall all Man Wah furniture products imported into the United States that included copies of Raffel’s proprietary integrated illuminated cup holders, since Man Wah admitted it cannot determine which Man Wah products contain defective knock-off products that may put consumers at risk, and which contain genuine Raffel product.