Shaw Integrated and Turf Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Shaw Industries Group, Inc., and related company, Columbia Insurance Company, have initiated legal action against Tuftco Corp. Shaw Industries claim that Tuftco infringes two US patents the company holds.
Shaw Industries claims that Tuftco Corp. has violated US patents 12,006,606 and 12,139,833 that the Dalton-based tufting company holds. Both patents relate to the production of high-pile patterned turf (e.g., hash marks, lines, numbers, and logos) in one seamless technology. Shaw Industries introduced this ability, called GAME ON®, in spring 2022. It earned them the Innovator Award from the Synthetic Turf Council later that year.
According to Shaw Industries, both the ColorTurf machine Tuftco is selling to customers who compete with Shaw in the synthetic turf market, as well as the products produced by these machines, infringe the patents.
Shaw claims it previously shared detailed information about the GAME ON® technology with Tuftco under confidentiality agreements while Tuftco was serving as a vendor. The lawsuit alleges that Tuftco used this knowledge to develop the ColorTurf machine, leading to both direct and induced infringement.